Chapter 86

Chapter 86

"Xiu Jin, I can handle it myself..." Lin Ze said, blushing with embarrassment.

But Li Xiujin's hand had already pressed against him there.

Even through a layer of fabric, he could feel the roughness of his fingertips.

Lin Ze's cheeks slowly flushed red.

Soon, it was replaced by a tongue, helping with the dilation.

A single attempt was completely ineffective.

So, Li Xiujin had to help him dilate whenever he had free time.

Li Chongyi turned three during the summer. After summer ended, he became a student in a preschool class.

On the first day of school, Lin Ze woke him up.

Li Chongyi rolled over and continued sleeping.

Finally, his nose was pinched, and unable to breathe, he opened his eyes. Seeing it was his dad who did it, his temper flared up. He crawled under the bed, hugged his Ah Beibei, and ignored everyone.

Lin Ze coaxed him out with great effort, made him sit on the bed, and put on his brand-new clothes and shoes.

After eating, Li Chongyi listlessly shouldered his backpack and was led by Lin Ze to the car.

Seeing him sullen and glum the whole way, even showing a melancholy beyond his years, Lin Ze felt his heart ache.

Arriving at the school gate, Lin Ze straightened out his clothes: "Chong Yi, Mom and Dad will be here to pick you up after school."

Li Chongyi's small body carried a large backpack as he walked into the school, looking back over his shoulder every few steps.

Even after he was out of sight, Lin Ze was still reluctant to leave.

"It's just preschool," Li Xiujin pulled him into a hug. "If it's this hard for you now, as he grows up and starts leaving more often, what will you do?"

"I know. I just think he's still so young, having to face strange classmates and teachers all by himself, so I worry."

"You should worry about the classmates and teachers he faces," Li Xiujin said with a dry laugh. "You should worry more about him not getting asked to leave."

Li Xiujin's words made Lin Ze even more worried. "I hope he can behave a little better at school."

In the afternoon, Lin Ze and Li Xiujin got there early to wait at the school gate.

When school ended, a swarm of kids came rushing out. Lin Ze didn't dare blink, afraid he might miss Li Chongyi.

"Mom!"

A familiar voice called out. Li Chongyi ran out of the classroom, his large backpack swinging from his arm. After squeezing past a few children, Li Chongyi was about to run into Lin Ze's arms when someone grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.

"I told you not to hug your mom like that during this time, did you forget again?" Li Xiujin chided him.

Li Chongyi wriggled and struggled. "Let me go!"

Li Xiujin put him down.

Chastened, Li Chongyi slowly hugged Lin Ze's leg, nuzzling his head against Lin Ze's bulging pregnant belly.

"Chong Yi, how was school today?" Lin Ze looked down, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

Li Chongyi said, "It's noisy. They're all crying."

"Mom, my head is still buzzing."

Lin Ze glanced at Li Xiujin and smiled helplessly.

"They're just scared of the unfamiliar environment. They'll get used to it slowly."

"Hopefully."

It was after returning home that Lin Ze received the teacher's call. The moment he answered, Lin Ze was prepared for the teacher to criticize Li Chongyi. But after hearing the teacher's words, Lin Ze was stunned in disbelief.

"What did the teacher say? Was he causing trouble at school?" Li Xiujin asked, seeing Lin Ze in a daze.

"Chong Yi got praised by the teacher," Lin Ze smiled.

"Was it because we paid a fortune in tuition, so the school is sucking up to us?"

"No," Lin Ze smiled helplessly. "The teacher said that on the first day of school, all the children were crying. Only Chong Yi didn't cry. He even helped the teacher calm the other kids down and keep them in line."

Li Xiujin chuckled. "At least we didn't spoil him rotten."

Li Chongyi was crazy about cars. Besides playing with building block cars, Lin Ze also downloaded a couple of racing games for him. Since it wasn't dinner time yet, Lin Ze let him play for a while.

After talking with Li Xiujin, Lin Ze slowly sat down beside Li Chongyi, cradling his pregnant belly, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Chong Yi, you're such a good boy."

What made Lin Ze even more relieved and happy was that he had originally thought Chong Yi's personality might cause others to avoid him. But when picking him up from school, he could see several children gathered around him.

Sometimes on weekends, Li Chongyi would invite them to his house to play games. Lin Ze gradually learned that among these children, some came from less well-off families. But Li Chongyi didn't show any signs of acting snobby or bullying them because of their poorer circumstances. He treated them all as friends equally.

Watching them play games noisily, Lin Ze couldn't help but feel happy too. He prepared to wash some fruit for them. But just as he put the fruit on a plate, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Leaning on the table, he told Li Chongyi to call his dad.

Seeing Lin Ze's pale face, Li Chongyi threw down the game controller and immediately dialed Li Xiujin's number.

"Dad, come home quickly! Something's wrong with Mom!"

Li Xiujin rushed to the hospital. Lin Ze had already been pushed into the delivery room. After waiting for almost an hour, the delivery room door finally opened.

Hearing that both the mother and child were safe, Li Xiujin slumped in relief, letting out a long breath.

"Mom, Mom..."

"Don't disturb your mom."

"But why isn't Mom awake yet?"

"She'll wake up soon."

"You said that earlier too. Don't fool me just because I'm a kid."

Lin Ze opened his eyes amidst the noise, first seeing Li Chongyi's cute face.

"Mom, you're finally awake!"

Discovering he had opened his eyes, Li Chongyi shouted happily. Before Li Xiujin could stop him, the baby in the swaddling clothes began to sob.

Hearing the crying, Lin Ze quickly sat up. "Xiu Jin, let me see the baby."

Li Xiujin passed the baby to him.

"Is it a boy?"

"Yeah."

Lin Ze was a little disappointed, but still held the baby tenderly in his arms, comforting him. This one seemed quieter than Li Chongyi was as a baby, and soon stopped making any noise.

But there was still the sound of an infant crying in the room. Lin Ze looked toward the sound and saw that there were two cribs placed in the ward.

Li Xiujin brought the other one over. "They're twins—a boy and a girl."

"Mom, you had two babies at the same time!" Li Chongyi said, fiddling with the blanket wrapped around the baby. "Now I have a little brother and a little sister."

Two...

No wonder the doctor had said the baby was a bit large—it turned out there were two...

Lin Ze put the sleeping brother back down, then picked up the still-crying sister, cradling her with a loving gaze.

He gently touched her cheek. "That's wonderful—we have a daughter."

Li Xiujin also kissed Lin Ze's cheek, saying tenderly, "You've worked so hard."

Lin Ze shook his head.

They only stayed in the hospital for a few days before Lin Ze returned home with the two newborns.

Once the joy of the babies' arrival faded, exhaustion set in.

Although neither child was as fussy or loud as Li Chongyi had been as a newborn, taking care of two infants was still incredibly tiring.

Because he didn't want Lin Ze to get too worn out, Li Xiujin insisted that both babies be formula-fed this time. While this spared Lin Ze some hardship, it severely cut into Li Xiujin's sleep. After finishing work each day, he was either preparing formula for the sister or changing the brother's diaper.

The twins seemed to like Li Chongyi more than their parents. Whenever Li Chongyi played with toys to amuse them, the two would giggle nonstop.

As a result, in just a few days, all three of them had lost a few pounds from all the stress.

Late at night, all three kids were finally asleep.

Li Xiujin finished his shower and lay down beside Lin Ze, burying his face in the crook of Lin Ze's neck.

Lin Ze asked softly, "Tired?"

Li Xiujin didn't answer, just kept nuzzling against his chest. Then he unbuttoned Lin Ze's pajamas—because he was still lactating, they had grown much fuller and carried a rich, milky scent.

Lin Ze felt a little embarrassed.

Li Xiujin gave a gentle squeeze, but not a single drop of milk came out.

"I guess because I'm not nursing them, nothing's coming out..." Lin Ze explained softly, seeing his disappointed expression.

"I want to drink," Li Xiujin said hoarsely.

Lin Ze also wished he could feed him, but it wasn't possible, which made him feel a little guilty.

Lin Ze managed to get a full night's sleep for once and woke up feeling refreshed. The already adorable babies seemed even cuter now.

He started with the eldest, giving each one a kiss in turn.

Then he saw them off to work and school, staying home with the two babies who couldn't talk yet.

Upon hearing that Lin Ze had given birth, Lu Mo took time off specifically to visit.

He didn't know Lin Ze had twins, so when he saw two identical babies, he froze in shock.

"What's going on here?"

"Are they twins?"

Lin Ze nodded.

"Oh my, Lieutenant General, you're amazing—with Chong Yi, you've given General Li three children in total."

Lu Mo gave him a thumbs-up.

Occasionally, Lin Ze also felt that as an alpha, he might be a bit too fertile. His face warmed. "I didn't expect to have two babies at once."

After playing with the children, Lu Mo updated Lin Ze on recent work matters.

Before leaving, he asked, "When are you planning to return to the command center?"

"Probably in a few more days," Lin Ze replied. "Originally, I planned to wait until the babies were a month old, but Chong Yi's autumn break is coming up soon, so I'm thinking of taking them all out for a trip."

Lu Mo nodded and left before dinnertime.

After he was gone, Lin Ze put on some soft music for the babies and sat nearby, reviewing documents while keeping them company. Before long, he felt a tight, swollen sensation in his chest, as if something were blocked.

He went to the bedroom, unbuttoned his shirt, and saw milk slowly seeping out.

Lin Ze's ears turned red.

After finishing work, Li Xiujin stopped by the kindergarten to pick up Li Chongyi. As soon as they got home, they were greeted by overlapping cries.

In the living room, Lin Ze was holding the sister while rocking the brother's cradle with his foot.

Li Xiujin took off his coat, sanitized himself, then took the baby from Lin Ze's arms. Li Chongyi set down his backpack and grabbed a brightly colored cartoon toy to entertain his brother in the cradle.

It wasn't until late at night that the three of them finally had a chance to rest.

Li Chongyi was so exhausted that he curled up on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep. Li Xiujin carried him back to his room, took a shower, and then lay down on the bed.

"Xiu Jin, Chong Yi's break is about to start. Let's all go on a trip together."

"Mm, I'm not too busy during this period anyway."

Seeing the dark circles under Li Xiujin's eyes, Lin Ze asked with concern, "Are you worn out?"

"If it's you, I still have energy."

Lin Ze's face began to flush. Just then, another wave of fullness surged in his chest. He paused, then shyly unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the spot where milk was flowing...

"Xiu Jin, I just realized today... you can drink..."

Before Lin Ze could finish, Li Xiujin had already buried himself against his chest...