Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The red light in the operating room was on.

Li Xiujin waited outside, wound tight.

It felt like an eternity had passed, but when he checked the time, only half an hour had gone by.

Every second felt like a year; he had never endured such agony before.

The moment the operating room door opened, Li Xiujin's heart leaped into his throat.

"General Li, we've just detected that the baby's position is slightly abnormal, but don't worry, the fetal heartbeat is normal..."

"What about the adult?" Li Xiujin's face was extremely grim.

"He's fine, he's fine, the adult is fine too..." The nurse broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly added, "We mainly wanted to inform you of some risks and have you sign a consent form."

Li Xiujin didn't even glance at the document, issuing a cold command: "Any factor threatening the adult's safety can be discarded immediately. Prioritize the adult's well-being above all else."

The operating room door opened and closed again.

Beads of sweat formed on Li Xiujin's forehead as a new emotion washed over him.

Regret.

His initial purpose had only been to make it impossible for Lin Ze to divorce him after their marriage.

He hadn't truly wanted a child.

He wasn't a particularly caring person; he never found any child cute, only noisy and annoying.

Learning of Lin Ze's pregnancy had pleased him only because it meant Lin Ze was willing to bear his child, and he felt happiness because this child was theirs.

Lin Ze was soft-hearted, preferring to face any danger himself rather than give up this child. Back then, he should have been more ruthless, forced Lin Ze to abort the child. Then he wouldn't have put Lin Ze in such a dangerous situation.

How could he have let Lin Ze fall into such peril?

Li Xiujin's expression darkened.

Just as he resolved that if anything happened to Lin Ze, he would first strangle the child and then blow his own brains out, the operating room door opened again.

"The baby is born, very healthy..."

A nurse walked out carrying a wailing, wrinkled infant.

Li Xiujin gave it a glance and then entered the operating room.

On the hospital bed, Lin Ze's hair was damp, his face pale, eyes closed, his breathing barely perceptible.

"The adult is also safe, just exhausted and has fallen into a deep sleep."

Li Xiujin carefully kissed Lin Ze's eyelids, and the heart that had been lodged in his throat finally settled back into place.

Lin Ze and the child were moved together into a recovery ward.

A male alpha was born, with all indicators showing excellent health. He was also the heaviest baby the doctors and nurses had ever seen, and full of vigor.

He had been wailing loudly from the moment he emerged, only gradually quieting down when Li Xiujin placed him in Lin Ze's arms.

Lin Ze was truly worn out by the ordeal, sleeping deeply for a whole day with no sign of waking. The child, after sleeping only a few hours, opened his mouth wide again and let out a loud cry that echoed throughout the room.

Li Xiujin prepared formula, feeding him while carrying him back and forth, slowly coaxing him back to sleep before placing him beside Lin Ze again.

Then Li Xiujin sat nearby, keeping watch over them.

Lin Ze woke up in the middle of the night.

He had never woken up feeling like this before—as if his entire body had been crushed, aching terribly.

But the previously heavy abdomen now felt light. Lin Ze reached down to touch it; it had become flat.

And against his chest, a warm little head was nestled.

"Awake?"

A hoarse voice came. Lin Ze looked up to see Li Xiujin keeping watch beside him, a faint stubble on his chin, looking somewhat weary.

"Xiu Jin, have you been watching over me the whole time?"

Li Xiujin nodded.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Two days."

So long. Lin Ze's heart ached for him, pressing his cheek against his.

"Look at the baby."

Lin Ze hummed in agreement, gently picking up the baby lying in his arms. Wrapped tightly in a thick blanket, only a tiny face was visible, eyes closed, sleeping soundly.

It was hard to imagine that such a vibrant life had come from his own body.

It was his and Xiu Jin's baby...

Lin Ze's eyes grew warm as he very carefully touched the baby's cheek with his finger...

The baby didn't wake, but nuzzled affectionately into his embrace.

Lin Ze's heart instantly melted.

"Xiu Jin, is he an alpha or an omega?"

Li Xiujin wrapped his arms around both of them. "Alpha."

Lin Ze nodded, gazing at the baby with tender affection.

Seeing him like this, completely unconcerned about himself with all attention on the child, Li Xiujin frowned slightly.

"Have you thought of a name for the child?"

"Let's call him Li Chongyi," Lin Ze said softly. "'Chong' means noble, 'Yi' means steady, like a tall mountain..."

Li Xiujin nodded.

Lin Ze wasn't used to staying in the hospital. As soon as his condition improved slightly, he cautiously discussed with Li Xiujin, "Xiu Jin, let's go home."

"Your body hasn't fully recovered yet," Li Xiujin said, wiping his face for him.

They had hired a caregiver, but Li Xiujin still insisted on personally washing his face and feet, taking care of both him and the child.

"I feel much better now. I'd be just as fine at home."

Though the hospital room was high-end and private, with no one daring to disturb them, it still wasn't as comfortable as home. Li Xiujin nodded in agreement. On the day of discharge, he bundled up Lin Ze and Li Chongyi tightly, making sure they weren't exposed to even a draft on the way home.

Li Xiujin hired two nannies for the child and two more for Lin Ze.

However, Li Chongyi was very picky about who held him. If anyone else tried to feed him, he would cry, fuss, and even spit out the milk. He would only let Lin Ze feed him, so the two nannies hired for him were of little use. Most of the time, it was still Lin Ze taking care of him.

Fortunately, he would sleep right after feeding. When awake, as long as his stomach was full, he wasn't tired, and he was by Lin Ze's side, he wouldn't cry or fuss, his bright eyes just darting around curiously...

Moreover, after having the child, the baby instantly became Lin Ze's number one priority. He would rather endure the hardship and personally feed him and coax him to sleep.

What made Li Xiujin even more exasperated was that Li Chongyi would cry the moment he detected him getting into bed. With no other choice, Li Xiujin had to temporarily move to the study to sleep.

Li Xiujin still had official business to attend to, so he could only work during the day and rush back immediately after work. Even though Li Chongyi didn't like being held or fed by him, he would still firmly pick him up and carry him around the house, allowing Lin Ze to rest for a while.

Once Lin Ze had rested enough, he would place Li Chongyi back into Lin Ze's arms. And because he didn't want to disturb Lin Ze's sleep, after putting Li Chongyi down, he would go to the study.

Lin Ze's heart ached for him: "Xiu Jin, just sleep here."

However, as soon as he lay down, Li Chongyi, with his keen sense of smell, would start crying.

Lin Ze hurriedly picked up Li Chongyi to soothe him: "Chong Yi, he's your dad..."

Li Chongyi just buried himself in Lin Ze's arms and cried.

Li Xiujin gritted his teeth: "I'm going back to the study."

The moment he stepped out of the study, he heard Lin Ze gently coaxing Li Chongyi.

"Don't cry... Chong Yi, Mommy loves you..."

He had never even said "I love you" to him. Li Xiujin's expression darkened fiercely.

After that, the only time Li Xiujin and Lin Ze could communicate was after Li Chongyi fell asleep.

Once confirming Li Chongyi was asleep, Li Xiujin would come out of the study, go to the bedroom, move Li Chongyi to the cradle, and lie down in the spot where Li Chongyi had been. He frowned as he looked at Lin Ze.

Lin Ze, who was still in his confinement period, had filled out a bit from the nourishing food, his face fair with a rosy glow. While his appearance was still handsome, there was now a touch of softness and beauty between his brows, and his body exuded a fresh, sweet scent, even more alluring than before.

Li Xiujin's Adam's apple bobbed as he said coolly, "A certain colonel, once he has a child, forgets about his husband. His husband has been sleeping in the study for so long, and he hasn't shown a bit of concern."

Lin Ze felt extremely guilty. He was also aware that after the child was born, his focus had shifted entirely to the baby. "Xiu Jin, he's still young. When he gets a bit older, I won't be like this anymore..."

Li Xiujin still frowned and stared at him coldly. "Before we had a child, Lin Zhuo was more important than me. After having a child, the child became more important than me. I'm always the one who's not important."

Lin Ze quickly pulled him into his arms, pressing his cheek tightly against Li Xiujin's. Though somewhat shy, he said firmly, "Xiu Jin, how could you think that? It's not true... You are the most important in my heart."

"Is that so?" Li Xiujin snorted. "I doubt it."

"Anyway, I've never heard you say you love me."

Lin Ze thought carefully and realized he indeed hadn't said it. He gently stroked Li Xiujin's hair. "Xiu Jin, are you angry because of this?"

Li Xiujin remained silent.

After a moment of quiet, Lin Ze cupped Li Xiujin's face with both hands, looking shyly into his eyes. "I love you."

Li Xiujin's heart skipped a beat, but like a petulant child, he persisted. "Love me the most."

"Your love for our child can't exceed your love for me either."

"Mmm... love you the most..." Lin Ze's eyelashes fluttered, his cheeks flushed with shyness.

Li Xiujin suddenly buried himself in Lin Ze's embrace.

Lin Ze's expression softened with tenderness and affection. "Xiu Jin, are you no longer angry?"

Li Xiujin sniffed at Lin Ze's chest, deeply regretting letting Lin Ze have a child. The child only competed for Lin Ze's love and attention.

But soon, he was stirred by the increasingly rich milky scent in Lin Ze's embrace, his lower abdomen tightening. He unbuttoned Lin Ze's clothes and squeezed, but nothing came out...

Lin Ze trembled with shame. "Xiu Jin, there's nothing there..."

Li Xiujin kneaded it a bit, then kissed Lin Ze's lips, his voice hoarse. "Even if there were, it would only be for me to have."

"Don't feed him."

"Mmm." Lin Ze responded shamefully. "Won't give it to the child, only to you."

Only then was Li Xiujin satisfied. He had Lin Ze hold him as they slept until dawn, when they were woken by Li Chongyi's loud cry.

Li Xiujin truly hadn't expected a child to be so exhausting. He pressed down Lin Ze, who was about to get up, picked up Li Chongyi, and went downstairs to prepare formula for him.

After that, there was no chance to sleep again. He went to the corporation with dark circles under his eyes and faint stubble.

Seeing him like this, Fu Zhi chuckled inwardly. "Kids really are demanding. When my child was first born, my wife and I were exhausted too."

Li Xiujin had no patience to listen to this and told him to report on work quickly. After hearing the report, he rushed off to the military headquarters without delay.

"General, our days and nights of surveillance haven't been in vain. We finally caught the other party."

Yang Yu showed him a blurry photo.

Li Xiujin narrowed his eyes slightly.

"After capturing this photo, we immediately started investigating this person. We found out almost immediately. He is the former Commander, Zhou Dingshan. General, when you first entered the military, he was still in power. You must have seen him."

Li Xiujin nodded. He indeed still had an impression of him.

"He stepped down before the Regeneration Plan was initiated. After his resignation, the position of Commander remained vacant until Su Wang took over."

"General, do you think he could be related to the incident seven years ago?"

Li Xiujin didn't know if there was a connection, but he knew a new clue had emerged regarding the events of seven years ago.

His hand, toying with a gun, paused slightly. After a few minutes, he instructed again, "Keep watching. Absolutely do not alert them."

Li Xiujin had a strange intuition that the truth about what happened seven years ago would soon come to light.

*

Li Chongyi, who had wrinkled skin, slowly filled out, becoming pink and fair all over. He was born weighing more than the average baby and continued to have a big appetite. Though small, he was chubby and very adorable.

After coaxing him to sleep, Lin Ze would gaze at him with an extremely gentle look, occasionally kissing his forehead.

Not long after, Lin Ze's phone buzzed. The noise woke the baby, who started crying. Lin Ze quickly silenced his phone, then picked him up and held him close, whispering soothingly, "I'm sorry, did Mommy wake you?"

As if by an infant's instinct, his little face nuzzled against Lin Ze's chest, accurately finding the place to suckle. Before Lin Ze could stop him, he had already taken it into his mouth...

Lin Ze remembered Li Xiujin’s words, and since he had no milk anyway, Lin Ze wanted to make him spit it out, but suddenly froze.

It was like a blockage had been cleared—something started flowing out steadily…

This was…

Lin Ze was overwhelmed with shame, never expecting himself to produce…

Fortunately, Li Xiujin wasn’t home. Lin Ze secretly fed the baby to fullness, soothed him to sleep, then went to the bathroom. Ears burning, he gave a gentle squeeze, and soon a trickle seeped out, dripping slowly onto the sink…

Even though the baby was fed, he still felt swollen and full…

Lin Ze covered his eyes, too ashamed to even figure out how to bring this up with Xiu Jin…

When Li Xiujin returned, as usual, the first thing he did was pick up Li Chongyi and take him to the living room, having the maid prepare formula for him.

Li Chongyi, who had already accepted formula before, now started spitting his milk back up, then cried and flailed angrily.

At such a young age, Li Xiujin couldn’t scold him, so he could only frown and carry him over to Lin Ze.

“Who does he take after?” Li Xiujin had never felt so exhausted.

“What’s wrong?”

“He spit out all the formula.”

Lin Ze instinctively covered his chest, feeling uneasy. “Maybe he’s not hungry…”

“Give him to me, I’ll soothe him.”

Li Xiujin handed the child over. As soon as Lin Ze held him, the baby immediately nuzzled into Lin Ze’s embrace, still wanting to nurse there. Feeling guilty, Lin Ze held him upright, trying to distract him.

Luckily, Li Xiujin didn’t notice. To give Lin Ze a break after minding the baby all day, he didn’t disturb him further and went to the study.

Once he was gone, Lin Ze, still somewhat ashamed, unbuttoned his shirt to feed Li Chongyi. Li Chongyi latched on immediately, and before long, his little belly was round and full.

Just then, Li Xiujin, who had gone to the study but turned back, pushed the door open to see this very scene…