Chapter 485: Twins

Chapter 485 Twins

Aunt Zhao brought chicken soup to Teacher Kong and returned to tell everyone that Teacher Kong had given birth to a chubby baby boy weighing six pounds.

Yun Chengxiu asked, "Is the new mom okay?"

Aunt Zhao replied, "She's fine. I saw Teacher Kong was already awake."

Yun Chengxiu couldn't help but glance worriedly at Xiao Xiao. "That still took several hours though."

Xiao Xiao bit her lip. Actually, she was planning to have a C-section.

But C-sections come with risks too—infections after surgery or bad stitching could lead to a tough recovery.

First, she’d need to find a suitable operating room, and second, a reliable doctor.

Getting a doctor wasn’t an issue for Ye Xiaoxiao; she didn't know many folks, but she knew plenty of doctors.

However, she was still considering the idea and hadn’t discussed it with anyone yet.

For now, she could only reassure her mother-in-law, "Mom, don’t worry. I’ll give you a heads-up when my due date gets closer."

If she opted for a C-section, the procedure could be scheduled in advance, avoiding the surprise of going into labor.

Yun Chengxiu hugged Xiao Xiao. Both she and Lu Xingzhou had work they couldn't get away from and couldn’t stay away from Beijing for too long.

After visiting Xiao Xiao and their son, Yun Chengxiu and Lu Xingzhou would had to head back to Beijing by helicopter.

Short as the visit was, there was still time for a meal.

Aunt Zhao whipped up a whole spread using ingredients from home and freshly bought seafood.

Others lent a hand, so the meal was ready quickly.

After dinner, Lu Xingzhou and his wife were really off.

Yun Chengxiu told Xiao Xiao not to see them off but pulled her son aside for a talk.

"You and Xiao Xiao are on the island—you must take good care of her."

Lu Hanchuan replied, "Of course. Who else would I look after if not my own wife?"

Though Yun Chengxiu thought her son was normally kind of a loose cannon, he was quite attentive when it came to Xiao Xiao.

"Don’t you two argue. If you fight, I’ll take Xiao Xiao away and leave you here alone."

Lu Hanchuan rolled his eyes at his mother’s warning. "Do I seem like that kind of guy?"

Yun Chengxiu said, "Just putting it out there."

Lu Hanchuan placed his hands on his mother’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze. "Don't worry about us, and give our regards to Grandpa and Grandma."

Yun Chengxiu and Lu Xingzhou walked onto the plane holding hands. After this visit, they could rest easier.

...

A few days later, when Kong Xuelan returned home from the maternity ward, Ye Xiaoxiao stopped by to see her and the newborn baby.

"Did you pick a name for the little one yet?"

Kong Xuelan: "Not yet. His nickname is 'Little Stone' for now."

"Little Stone."

The baby was all wrinkly when he was first born, but after a few days, he had filled out a bit, and his skin looked fairer.

Xiao Xiao thought the baby looked a lot like Deputy Regimental Commander Li.

"Xiao Xiao, is yours a boy or a girl?" Kong Xuelan asked curiously.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I'm keeping it a secret."

Kong Xuelan chuckled, "If it's a girl, maybe our families could arrange a betrothal."

Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t agree to that so casually. "You can’t just arrange betrothals like that. I had one before, and it went south."

Kong Xuelan was surprised. "Wait, you had a betrothal before?"

Xiao Xiao gave her the short version of what happened.

Kong Xuelan was floored after hearing it.

"I was just joking earlier. Yeah, betrothals are serious business. Besides, what if both kids turn out to be boys?"

Xiao Xiao kept it a mystery, not telling anyone the baby’s gender yet.

Of course, her two sanatorium colleagues already knew—Qu Miao could read her pulse, and Xiao Xiao had gotten checked there.

After seeing Kong Xuelan, Xiao Xiao left—the new mom needed her rest during her postpartum recovery.

Back home, Xiao Xiao wondered aloud, "I hope my month of lying in isn’t during peak summer."

Auntie Zhao: "Oh no, if it’s August, it’ll be quite hot. September’s much nicer."

Ye Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. "Then I’ll just have the baby in September."

Not that she could actually wait that long.

Auntie Zhao cracked up, thinking Xiao Xiao was messing with her. "Since when can you pick?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Because I’m getting a C-section."

Auntie Zhao’s jaw dropped. "I’ve heard about those—they slice you open! That... that’s insane!"

She believed in modern medicine, but the thought of a C-section freaked her out.

Xiao Xiao just grinned. "It’s perfectly safe."

Xiao Xiao said it offhand, but Auntie Zhao fixated on it.

Realizing Xiao Xiao was serious, Auntie Zhao cornered Lu Hanchuan the second he walked in.

"Xiao Chuan, listen—Xiao Xiao says she’s getting a... C-section! Do you know what that means? They cut her open and yank the baby out!"

Auntie Zhao kept going, but Lu Hanchuan zeroed in on one thing.

"Xiao Xiao told you that?"

This was the first time Lu Hanchuan had heard about it—Xiao Xiao had never mentioned it before.

"Yes, Xiao Xiao said it herself."

Aunt Zhao looked at Lu Hanchuan with an expression that seemed to say, "As if I’d lie to you?"

Lu Hanchuan nodded. "Okay, I understand."

During dinner, Lu Hanchuan put food on Xiao Xiao’s plate but kept quiet the whole time.

It wasn’t until after the meal, when the two returned to their room, that Lu Hanchuan finally asked Xiao Xiao, "Aunt Zhao said you want to try a C-section?"

Ye Xiaoxiao tilted her head. "Since when is a C-section something you 'try'?"

Lu Hanchuan wiped Xiao Xiao’s face with a towel. Now that her belly was bigger, washing her face was hard with her big belly.

"Is a C-section dangerous? I’m not familiar with it, so I’m worried."

Whenever Lu Hanchuan had asked about the baby’s condition before, Xiao Xiao had only given verbal updates—since showing him the reports wouldn’t mean anything to him.

So, apart from the earliest reports, Lu Hanchuan could only go by Xiao Xiao’s judgment. Now, hearing that she had decided on a C-section, he grew anxious.

Once her face was dried, Xiao Xiao grabbed the face cream on the table and applied it to her face.

"I think it’s what works best for me."

Ye Xiaoxiao stood up and held Lu Hanchuan’s face in her hands. "Don’t think surgery automatically means harm. And natural delivery has its risks too."

"No matter how you give birth, I’ll still worry."

Lu Hanchuan lowered his gaze, looking uncharacteristically fragile.

Xiao Xiao froze. She had originally planned to surprise him later, but seeing him like this, she decided to give him the surprise now to ease his mind.

She could have kept it a secret longer, but she felt nothing mattered more than seeing his relieved smile at this moment.

Ye Xiaoxiao pulled out her ultrasound scans from the drawer. The earliest ones only showed a faint blur.

Later scans revealed clearer outlines of the fetus.

She had kept the more recent ones to herself, never showing them to Lu Hanchuan.

"The reason I chose a C-section is that I’m carrying twins."