Chapter 64

Chapter 64

"Not now."

"Her cervix is barely a finger dilated, not enough for an epidural yet. It wouldn't do anything even if we gave one."

Pei Qingji's voice turned urgent: "But what about his pain?"

"Pain is normal. He'll have to tough it out for now. Only when the cervix opens to three fingers can he enter the delivery room and get an epidural."

Pei Qingji looked at the cold sweat forming on Cheng Yuan's forehead, feeling like something had just yanked his heart.

His voice was practically shaking. "Then how long does he have to tough it out?"

The doctor couldn't give him a straight answer either.

"That's hard to say."

"Has he had any health issues before?"

Pei Qingji replied: "Although he's an omega, he pretended to be a beta for a while, which caused some pheromone imbalance. Does that matter?"

The doctor nodded: "Long-term pheromone imbalance can mess with his health and affect all sorts of things."

Pei Qingji's face immediately fell.

The doctor comforted him: "We completely understand how you family members are feeling, but there's nothing we can do."

"Just spend more time with him, keep his mind off things. That might help a little."

Soon, they wheeled Cheng Yuan into the ward.

He was in a private suite.

He didn't have to share with other patients—it was a private room with an extra bed.

Cheng Yuan lay on the bed, his lips trembling.

"Does it still hurt?"

Pei Qingji held his hand in both of his, his eyes getting red.

He pressed his forehead against his hand, eyes shut, voice shaking. After a long moment, he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry."

"Let me tell you something really funny that happened to me when I was a kid."

Cheng Yuan's eyelashes fluttered a few times. He didn't say anything, which was as good as a yes.

Taking that as permission, Pei Qingji started.

"When I was a kid, I wanted to show off, so I raced someone to see who could bike faster."

"I insisted on riding with one hand and keeping the other in my pocket. Sure enough, I flew off the bike and knocked out my front tooth."

"I didn't even realize at the time. When people asked, I acted all tough and said it was no big deal. But when I got home, I cried in secret—cried my eyes out, almost couldn't breathe."

"Thinking about it now, it was really funny back then."

Pei Qingji seemed to remember it and let out a small laugh.

Cheng Yuan seemed to find it a little funny too, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. It hurt a little, but he seemed to be in a slightly better mood.

The pain in his stomach also eased up a bit.

Seeing that he seemed a bit better, Pei Qingji relaxed a little.

Sweat beaded on Cheng Yuan's forehead, his hair stuck to his temples, and his lips were pale and bloodless.

Pei Qingji took a towel from the delivery bag, filled a basin with hot water, wrung it out, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Cheng Yuan lay back against the pillow, eyes closed.

He had no strength left—couldn't even lift his hand—so he just let him wipe him down.

The labor pain in his stomach had eased up a little. Maybe exhausted from all the commotion, he drifted off to sleep.

But even in sleep, his brows stayed furrowed.

Pei Qingji wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes full of heartache, then carefully tucked him in.

He sat down next to him.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside.

Pei's dad and mom, along with Grandpa Pei, rushed over when they heard the news.

Pei Qingji instinctively glanced over to make sure they hadn't woken him.

Then he stepped out, closing the door behind him, so they could talk outside.

"What did the doctor say?"

They seemed to have rushed over the second they got the news, throwing on whatever clothes they could grab.

Pei's mother asked, her voice full of worry.

Pei Qingji paused, then explained.

"He said he can't give birth yet—his cervix needs to open to three fingers first."

"How's Xiaoyu doing now? This kind of ordeal is the worst. If he'd been sent to the hospital earlier..."

Pei's mother's voice was also full of worry.

"Let me go in and see him."

Pei Qingji explained, "He's asleep."

"We should be extra careful during these next few days," Pei's mother said.

After taking care of them, Pei Qingji said, "Why don't you all head back for now?"

"I'll look after him here."

"Then what are you going to do about lunch?"

Pei Qingji had no time to eat, let alone go home to cook and come back to look after him.

Although it's possible to hire a caregiver, only watching over him yourself can put your mind at ease.

He was planning to have the guys at Dige cook the food and send it over.

"I'll go back and cook, then have someone bring it over," Pei's mom said.

"I've got nothing going on at home anyway, and I know more about this kind of thing."

Pei Qingji went quiet for a beat, not sure what to say.

Pei's mom noticed, felt like she'd said too much, and went quiet too.

"I..."

After a long pause, Pei Qingji squeezed the door handle and finally nodded.

As he closed the door, a voice came from behind him.

"Okay."

Pei's mom froze for a second, tears rolling down her face before she even knew it.

She knew her son still hadn't forgiven her, and this was probably the best she could hope for right now.

Pei Qingji shut the door softly.

He didn't know how to deal with it, dropping his gaze, but only for a second before pulling himself together.

Pei Qingji walked over to Cheng Yuan's bed.

His brow wasn't furrowed anymore, like the pain had let up a little.

After a while, Cheng Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

Pei Qingji sat in the chair, dozing lightly with his eyes closed.

Hearing the movement, he snapped his eyes open and hurried over to the bed.

"You're up? Hungry? Want me to get you something to eat?"

"Does it still hurt?"

A whole string of questions came tumbling out.

Cheng Yuan didn't know which question to answer first.

He pushed against the bed, trying to sit up.

Pei Qingji reached out to steady him right away, his voice a little tense.

Cheng Yuan's voice was still shaky, but way better than before.

"I'm okay."

His stomach still felt a little off.

Cheng sat propped against the pillow, eyes half-closed, face pale and lips white.

Pei Qingji grabbed a glass of water and handed it to him.

He didn't even have the strength to hold the cup, so Pei Qingji ended up feeding it to him.

Cheng Yuan ducked his head and took a few tiny sips.

After a few more sips, he shook his head to say he was done.

Pei Qingji set the cup on the nightstand and asked, "Hungry?"

Cheng Yuan had gotten a little color back and nodded.

He hadn't eaten since last night, so he was actually pretty hungry.

But before eating, he had to call Brother Zhou.

"Hand me my phone, I need to call Brother Zhou first."

He'd been rushed to the hospital so fast last night that he didn't get a chance to tell Brother Zhou.

He didn't have the strength, so he had Pei Qingji unlock his phone for him.

Cheng Yuan said, "The password is 270512."

Pei Qingji paused for a second as he typed in the password. He remembered that was the exact day they first met.

Seeing him space out, Cheng Yuan thought it was weird, then figured it out.

He pressed his lips together.

"Just couldn't be bothered to change it."

Pei Qingji paused, dropping his gaze.

He quickly found Brother Zhou in his contacts and hit dial.

"Yuan."

Cheng Yuan said, calling out to Brother Zhou.

"I'm at the hospital now."

On the other end, something crashed, and then Brother Zhou's voice shot up.

"What the hell happened? Why are you in the hospital?!"

"Something this big, and you didn't tell me? Cheng Yuan, you've got some nerve now, don't you?"

Brother Zhou was pissed and helpless at the same time.

This wasn't the first time; he never told him about this kind of stuff.

"I didn't have time to tell you, and the second I got a chance, I called you."

Cheng Yuan's voice sounded a bit weak.

"What exactly happened? Why are you in the hospital?"

Cheng Yuan explained, his voice still weak.

"Nothing serious, just had some contractions last night, thought I was about to go into labor, but the doctor said I have to wait until I'm dilated three centimeters before I can go into the delivery room."

"Then do you have someone with you?"

Zhou asked.

"Which hospital are you at now? I'll come over right away."

Cheng Yuan told him the name of the hospital, and before he hung up, he added.

"Hey, don't tell Grandma yet. I'm afraid she'll worry."

Zhou agreed as he picked up his car keys and headed for the door.

"Yeah, wait for me. I'll be right there."

Cheng Yuan nodded to him.

Pei Qingji then hung up the phone.

"Is he coming over?"

Cheng Yuan said "mm-hmm" in acknowledgment.

"So, do you want to eat now, or wait for him to come?"

"Let's just eat first."

Since Cheng Yuan couldn't feed himself, Pei Qingji fed him.

Cheng Yuan stiffened, feeling a bit awkward.

Pei Qingji scooped up a spoonful of rice with veggies and meat, bringing it to his lips.

He hesitated for a moment, carefully opening his mouth, and then, spoonful after spoonful, he finished the meal.

By the end, the bowl was scraped clean.

After the meal, Pei Qingji took a tissue and gently wiped the corners of his mouth.

He leaned in slightly, speaking softly.

"Want a little more water?"

Cheng Yuan's fingers tightened slightly, then he nodded.

Zhou was on his way over. Following the address he was given, he walked to the door of the ward. Just as he was about to push it open, he paused mid-step.

He saw Pei Qingji feeding Cheng Yuan his meal.

Then he wiped his mouth and helped him drink some water. His every move showed no sign of impatience, but was instead very attentive.

His actions were also very careful and gentle.

Zhou was rarely stunned, standing outside the door for a good while before knocking.

Pei Qingji heard the knock and let him in.

Zhou walked in.

Cheng Yuan greeted him.

"Zhou."

There was a note of concern in Zhou's voice: "How are you feeling now?"

Cheng Yuan shook his head, smiling with his lips pressed together: "It's okay, my stomach doesn't hurt much."

Even now, it was clear that Cheng Yuan treated Zhou differently from how he treated Pei Qingji.

Around Pei Qingji, he always seemed a bit uneasy.

Pei Qingji cast his eyes down, not interrupting their conversation, but silently walked out of the room, closing the door behind him to give them some space.

Cheng Yuan saw the closed door and was briefly startled.

Zhou followed his line of sight, hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"You two..."

Author's note:

None.