Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Pei Qingji froze for a moment, then a smile crept into his eyes.

"Mm."

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the due date was approaching. The baby was already 37 weeks along.

They say it's ten months of pregnancy, but most people give birth around nine months.

The doctor said if they had regular contractions, spotting, or their water broke—those signs of labor—they should head to the hospital to be admitted.

The mood at home gradually got tense. The servants grew more careful, and even Pei Qingji basically stopped going out, staying by his side the whole time.

Cheng Yuan's belly had gone from the size of a small watermelon to a big pumpkin, but compared to other pregnant women, his belly was still on the smaller side.

He even wondered if his past pheromone imbalance had messed up his body, which was why he couldn't give the baby enough nutrients.

The two of them had no idea what was going on, so they rushed to the hospital first thing in the morning, all anxious.

"So the baby won't come out weighing a lot less than a normal baby, right?"

Seeing how nervous they both were, the doctor shook his head and smiled.

He said it was just a matter of body type. Some people showed a lot, and some didn't, and it didn't have much to do with whether the baby's weight was normal.

They were just too anxious because the due date was close, so they were overthinking everything.

Realizing it was a false alarm, they both smiled awkwardly.

But the doctor didn't think much of it. After all, working at the hospital, he'd seen this kind of thing plenty of times. He just chuckled.

"This is totally normal. A lot of young couples having their first kid get nervous at this stage. You'll be way better once you have a second one."

Hearing the baby was healthy, they both finally relaxed a bit.

But Pei Qingji was still a bit uneasy, so he made Cheng Yuan get a few more tests done. Only after confirming everything was fine did they head home.

He even had people buy some top-notch supplements and have them sent over.

After all, a pregnant person burns a lot of energy, not to mention the baby inside also needs nutrients.

The servants knew they'd gone for a check-up today. As soon as they saw them come back, they hurried over, looking worried, and asked.

"How did it go, sir?"

Pei Qingji let out a sigh of relief and explained, "The doctor said everything's fine. The baby's really healthy."

Hearing that, the servants' nerves settled too.

After all, they were first-time parents, so it was normal to panic over stuff like this.

"You tired?"

They'd been on edge these past few days, and all the back-and-forth had been pretty exhausting.

Cheng Yuan nodded.

Pei Qingji helped him upstairs to rest, tucked him in, and only after he fell asleep did he quietly close the door and leave.

He grabbed his car keys and headed to Xingyao to finish the last part of the new song.

Lately, he'd been coming to record the new song every day while Cheng Yuan was asleep.

Once he finished the rest today, the song would be done.

This song would also be a new beginning.

He worked until almost midnight, when his agent, Sister Yan, knocked on the door.

"Still at it?"

She walked in and set a cup of coffee on his desk. Seeing how focused and serious he looked, she hesitated before asking.

"Are you really gonna do this?"

Pei Qingji shook his head, firm.

Seeing him like this, the agent felt inexplicably irritated, and her tone was full of disappointment as she said, "Have you even thought about what could happen if you do this?"

Pei Qingji was quiet for a moment. Clearly, he already knew the consequences, but he was still going to do it.

"You... ugh, I really can't even with you." Sister Yan's head was spinning.

"You're really something else."

Pei Qingji had already gathered his stuff. His gaze was more serious than ever, all his usual arrogance gone.

"There are some things I'll need your help with later, Sister Yan."

Sister Yan was taken aback for a second, then waved her hand.

"Fine, fine, fine. I've got it."

"Sister Yan, I'm heading back first."

"Mm, go on then. He's probably still waiting for you at home."

At that thought, Pei Qingji's gaze softened even more, and he smiled.

By the time he rushed home, it was almost dawn.

At this hour, Cheng Yuan had been fast asleep for a while.

He carefully pushed open the door, wanting to check if his blanket was still tucked in, or if his legs were cramping.

Unexpectedly, the person in bed suddenly woke up.

Cheng Yuan groggily opened his eyes, and once his vision cleared, he realized it was Pei Qingji.

"Where did you go?"

A flicker of panic flashed through Pei Qingji's eyes. Seeing how sleepy Cheng Yuan looked, he couldn't bear to disturb him, so he just said.

"Something came up at work. Go back to sleep."

Cheng Yuan didn't think twice, nodded, and drifted back to sleep.

Pei Qingji smiled, then washed up and carefully climbed into bed.

With the due date approaching, naming the child had become a top priority.

They had flipped through many dictionaries, but still couldn't settle on a name.

Cheng Yuan was also a bit worried. He had been flipping through dictionaries all morning, or scrolling through videos to see which characters might work better.

He didn't have a high level of education—he stopped after high school—and he wasn't great at coming up with names.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked Pei Qingji.

"Which character do you think is better?"

Cheng Yuan offered his own idea: "I think all of these are pretty good. If it's a boy, how about calling him Xiaobai? If it's a girl, Guoguo?"

Pei Qingji paused mid-motion.

He was a bit uncertain, then asked Cheng Yuan, "Do you think this name is good? I think it's pretty nice."

Pei Qingji didn't speak, falling into silence, but under Cheng Yuan's gaze, he still nodded and said in a strained voice.

"It's nice, but maybe we should consider other options."

"Maybe there's something even better."

Cheng Yuan thought he had a point, but after searching for a long time, he still hadn't found a satisfactory result.

So he set it aside for the time being, planning to look again when he had time.

Pei Qingji decided to make a checklist of what to bring in the hospital bag.

"Loose pajamas, undergarments, slippers, toothbrush, towel, water bottle, toiletries."

He had considered just about everything, and put the items into the hospital bag in advance, just in case.

At this time, the baby was becoming more and more active, with frequent fetal movements.

Cheng Yuan felt it moving a few times in his belly.

"Oh, right, also documents, bank cards, and the prenatal records—bring those too, just in case..."

Cheng Yuan looked at the pile of bags of all sizes on the floor and fell silent.

He was only going to the hospital for a few weeks—anything else could be picked up later. There was no need to bring so much stuff; people might think they were moving out.

But Pei Qingji didn't think so. He was afraid this might be needed, afraid that might be needed, so he just brought everything, then checked it over and over again before finally being satisfied.

It was Cheng Yuan who was about to give birth, but Pei Qingji seemed even more nervous than he was.

Sometimes Cheng Yuan would just furrow his brow slightly, and Pei Qingji would immediately lean in with a worried expression, asking if something was wrong, if he felt uncomfortable, or if he needed to go to the hospital.

Cheng Yuan: "..."

Cheng Yuan thought, the doctor had only said that a few days ago—it wouldn't happen that fast.

Until one morning, when Cheng Yuan got up and suddenly felt a slight pain in his stomach.

Pei Qingji noticed his expression and immediately asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"

Cheng Yuan felt a contraction coming.

"I... I think I'm having contractions."

Pei Qingji's face visibly panicked at the words, his movements becoming flustered, his hands trembling.

"Th-then what should we do?"

He didn't even have time to put on his shoes properly. He scooped Cheng Yuan up in his arms, grabbed the hospital bag, and rushed downstairs.

Cheng Yuan was indeed feeling a bit uncomfortable, but it definitely wasn't what Pei Qingji thought.

Before he could get the words out, he saw Pei Qingji frantically carrying him and about to run to the hospital.

"Put me down..."

Pei Qingji's mind was completely occupied with the thought of getting to the hospital, and he didn't hear what he was saying at all.

"Does it hurt a lot? Hang in there a little longer—we'll be at the hospital soon."

Cheng Yuan saw that he didn't understand what he meant and struggled to get free.

"Put me down, I'm fine."

Cheng Yuan pressed his lips together: "I'm not about to give birth."

Pei Qingji seemed to finally snap out of it, realizing he had overreacted.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Yuan added, "It's probably just false labor..."

Pei Qingji suddenly felt like he had been making a big deal out of nothing.

But there was no helping it. He had thought he had prepared everything, but when the real thing was about to happen, he was already completely panicked.

He even mentally rehearsed every step he would take if Cheng Yuan really went into labor.

Until nightfall, that anxious feeling didn't subside—it only grew stronger.

He also hadn't been sleeping well these past few days. Whenever Cheng Yuan made any movement, he would immediately jerk awake, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Should we go to the hospital?" he asked.

He had already prepared everything and gone over the steps in his head again.

Cheng Yuan watched him and pressed his lips together.

The nursery had also been disinfected in advance by the housekeeper, with windows opened daily for ventilation, waiting for its new little occupant.

Dark circles were visible under his eyes. These past few nights, he had to take care of Cheng Yuan while only sleeping about five hours a day—that would wear anyone out.

Cheng Yuan pressed his lips together and blinked a few times.

"I'm fine, you get some sleep."

Pei Qingji shook his head. In truth, he couldn't sleep at all. He would jerk awake every now and then, afraid something might happen to Cheng Yuan.

His voice was hoarse, and he moved gently, tucking the blanket around Cheng Yuan.

"You go to sleep first."

Cheng Yu'an glanced at him, ultimately saying nothing, and shut his eyes briefly.

Pei Qingji looked at him for a good long while before finally looking away.

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind suddenly jumped to what he'd read earlier that day.

It was then that he realized childbirth was an incredibly painful experience, taking a heavy toll on the body.

The mere thought of Cheng Yu'an having to endure such suffering made his chest ache.

Not to mention this was a critical period—how could that not keep him on edge?

The person lying beside him breathed steadily, yet Pei Qingji's whole body was tense, not daring to let his guard down for a second.

Author's note:

N/A