Chapter 439

Chapter 439

Labor Begins

As days passed, Lin Nannan's belly grew increasingly larger, making stair-climbing unnerving to watch.

So, Lu Hang specially renovated the staircase. However, neither wanted to move downstairs.

Two units downstairs were vacant—one belonged to Zhao Qun's family, who was due to return, so it couldn’t be touched. The other had previously been occupied by Han Yan. The idea of living there unsettled them, so no one suggested moving downstairs.

Whenever Lin Nannan descended the stairs, she carefully held onto the handrail, making it safely until the day of her delivery arrived...

That day, after finishing her meal, Lin Nannan planned to walk off her meal when she suddenly felt a dragging heaviness in her belly. She didn’t pay much attention to it, as it had been happening frequently over the past few days.

But by the time she realized something was truly wrong, her water had already broken. She panicked.

"Mom, I’m going into labor!" she called out to her mother-in-law, who was still cleaning up the dishes, her face blank with shock.

Hearing the cry, Zhang Xiaofeng was so startled that she dropped the dishes in alarm. Lin Nannan heard a clattering noise before her mother-in-law rushed out.

"Are you in pain? Are you dizzy?" Zhang Xiaofeng asked anxiously.

Lin Nannan shook her head. "I’m okay for now. Mom, please help me grab the hospital bag—we need to get to the hospital!"

Zhang Xiaofeng nodded immediately. By then, several neighbor army wives from downstairs who had heard the commotion came upstairs. They had been home processing herbs but rushed up as soon as they heard Lin Nannan’s call.

Seeing that Lin Nannan’s water had broken, they helped Zhang Xiaofeng gather the necessary items and helped her downstairs...

"Should I call for a car?" someone suggested.

Lin Nannan refused. "First babies take time—we can walk. The hospital isn’t far, and I can still manage. Let’s walk there."

No one objected. They all knew that moving around during the first labor could help speed up the process.

Zhang Xiaofeng, frazzled, was unsure of what she had or hadn’t packed, and got swept along by the other military wives...

"Oh no, we didn’t tell A Hang! If any of you see him, let him know!" Zhang Xiaofeng hastily added.

The others nodded. "Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to tell him!"

As Lin Nannan walked, her belly felt swollen and uncomfortable, but she had no other major discomforts.

At the hospital, the nurses took one look and understood why she was there and arranged a bed for her...

At first, Lin Nannan felt she could endure the pain—though uncomfortable, the contractions came in waves, and she could bear them. But soon, the pain grew more frequent and intense, forcing her to grit her teeth and bite back groans, tugging at Zhang Xiaofeng’s heart.

"If it hurts, just scream—don’t hold it in!" Zhang Xiaofeng whispered as she wiped the sweat from Lin Nannan’s forehead.

But Lin Nannan could no longer process her words, enduring each wave of pain in silence. She didn’t curse or complain—just clenched her teeth and persevered...

Lu Hang only learned his wife was in labor after returning home. He arrived sweating, rushing to the hospital, but since men weren’t allowed and other women were giving birth in the same ward, he couldn’t stay by her side. Instead, he fetched things.

Whenever Zhang Xiaofeng realized something was missing, she sent him back home to fetch it. After several trips, everything was finally brought to the hospital, and all they could do was wait for Lin Nannan to deliver.

At one point, fearing Lin Nannan might lose strength, Zhang Xiaofeng hurried home to prepare a bowl of noodles. Though Lin Nannan, wracked with pain, initially had no appetite, Zhang Xiaofeng softly urged her to eat some...