Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Pei Qingji saw that he was a bit anxious and quickly reassured him.

"Okay, okay, we'll have the baby, we'll have the baby."

Only then did Cheng Yuan relent.

His forehead was covered in sweat, with strands of hair sticking to his temples.

"Hold on a little longer. The doctor said you're already dilated to two fingers. Once you reach three, you can go into the delivery room."

Pei Qingji held his hand to comfort him.

Pei Qingji's hand was trembling.

Cheng Yuan froze slightly. His eyes were already filled with tears, and the pain had drained all the color from his face.

"It hurts so much..."

"Then let's not have the baby."

"No."

He seemed obsessed—he had to give birth to this child.

And after all, the baby was already so big; there were feelings involved. Although Pei Qingji said that, he was reluctant too.

But he wished even more that Cheng Yuan wouldn't have to suffer any more.

Not giving birth now wasn't very realistic either—the pregnancy was already so far along. He could only endure a bit longer.

Pei Qingji looked at him for a long time, then reached out his hand.

Pei Qingji thought he wanted something, but the next second, he felt a gentle touch on his cheek.

Cheng Yuan was very weak, with no strength left in his body. He lightly touched Pei Qingji's forehead.

"Don't worry... I'm... I'm fine."

A deep sorrow suddenly welled up in Pei Qingji's heart.

He thought, how could Cheng Yuan be like this—in this state, still worrying about him.

Although he knew this wasn't about feelings and didn't mean he had been forgiven.

"Okay."

Pei Qingji was silent for a long moment before speaking.

His voice trembled as he spoke.

"Then let's have the baby..."

"I'm fine."

Cheng Yuan took a while to recover. During that time, Pei Qingji stayed by his side the whole while, not daring to leave even for a step.

"I want to get up and walk around."

He felt much better and wanted to move around a bit—staying in bed all the time made him feel even weaker.

Pei Qingji was a little worried. After asking the doctor, who said it was okay to walk for a bit, he helped him up and out of the ward.

Worried Cheng Yuan would tire himself out, he said.

"Are you tired? If so, we'll go back."

This was the inpatient ward, and there weren't many patients.

Every day, babies were born at the hospital, and nurses would carry the babies to the parents who had just left the delivery room.

At this time, the babies' faces were all wrinkled, their features not yet developed, their faces red. They were wrapped in cloth and crying loudly.

"Oh, this kid's got quite a set of lungs."

The nurse said with a smile.

The mother lying in bed looked at the baby in her arms and smiled as well.

The hospital corridor was very quiet, making the baby's cries especially noticeable.

Cheng Yuan stopped and stood there watching the scene.

He wondered, would his baby cry too when born? Would it cry that loudly?

"What are you thinking about?"

Pei Qingji draped his coat over him and asked quietly.

Cheng Yuan shook his head.

"Nothing. Let's go back."

Pei Qingji's movements froze for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal and helped him back.

It was already evening, and they'd be back just in time for dinner.

Cheng Yuan walked very slowly, but Pei Qingji supported him without the slightest impatience or urging.

He returned to the ward and sat down in a chair.

Pei Qingji opened the food container and set it in front of him.

Inside were braised chicken wings, glossy and vibrant, sprinkled with white sesame seeds—they looked quite appetizing.

Pei Qingji even deboned the chicken wings and set them aside.

Cheng Yuan looked at this scene, his hand trembling slightly as he held the chopsticks.

He pressed his lips together tightly, his lips moving slightly, but he said nothing.

Suddenly, a pain shot through his abdomen.

Cheng Yuan couldn't help but bend over in pain, and the chopsticks in his hand clattered to the floor.

Pei Qingji's face turned panicked, and he asked urgently.

"Is it hurting again?"

Cheng Yuan bit down hard on his lip, and only after this wave of pain passed did he shake his head.

He vaguely felt that this time seemed different.

Was the baby coming?

"My stomach feels heavy and like it's dropping..."

Cheng Yuan's lower back was also sore, so sore that he couldn't even stand up, as if something heavy was pressing down on him.

His breathing became rapid, and he kept panting, his hands tightly gripping Pei Qingji's arm.

His grip was so tight his knuckles were turning white.

Something was clearly very wrong.

Pei Qingji had a sinking feeling about what was happening and quickly pressed the call button for a nurse.

"Hang in there, the nurse will be here soon."

He coaxed in a low voice.

Hearing this out of the blue, Pei Qingji couldn't help but start to panic a little.

Cheng Yuan's face was deathly pale, and sweat began to form on his forehead.

Pei Qingji's heart clenched.

The nurse hurried over, asked what was going on, and told them to go to the labor room first.

Cheng Yuan was completely drained of strength and could only rely on someone to support him. He was leaning most of his weight against Pei Qingji.

He basically had to be half-carried, half-supported just to make it to the labor room.

It was eight in the evening, and it was pitch dark outside. The only lights on were the hospital's.

The corridor lights were on too, making the already stark white walls look even more sterile and cold.

The corridor was basically empty at this hour, the only sound being their quiet footsteps.

The nurse told him to lie down on the bed.

Cheng Yuan was so weak he couldn't even lift his legs, and in the end, Pei Qingji had to lift him onto the bed.

The nurse strapped a blood pressure cuff to his wrist and attached a fetal heart monitor to his belly.

The monitor beeped a few times.

Each beep made Cheng Yuan's heart instinctively clench.

He felt awful, could only bite his lip hard, his forehead slick with sweat, and his bright eyes glistening with tears.

Cheng Yuan was suddenly terrified, tightly gripping Pei Qingji's hand. He didn't speak, but his fingers were white from the force of his grip.

The pain was so intense that tears spilled out, his eyes rimmed red.

Pei Qingji felt like there was nothing more agonizing in the world than this, and the worst part was that he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Pei Qingji squeezed his hand and murmured soothingly.

His voice was hoarse, almost desperate.

"I'm here, don't be afraid."

Cheng Yuan was in so much pain he couldn't even hear what people were saying around him, but his hand remained tightly clenched.

His voice was almost pleading, his lips quivering.

"It hurts so much."

Pei Qingji's eyes were full of pain.

The nurse chimed in from the side.

"How many centimeters is she dilated?"

"She's already at three centimeters, she can go in now."

Cheng Yuan was then wheeled into the delivery room.

Pei Qingji instinctively moved to follow but was stopped at the door.

"Family has to wait outside."

"He's about to give birth. I can't even imagine what I'd do if something went wrong."

His eyes slowly started to well up.

Everyone says giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell.

Pei's father, Pei's mother, Grandpa Pei, and Brother Zhou all rushed over.

The surgical light was on, and every second of waiting felt like an eternity.

He couldn't even sit still, too anxious, so he just stood at the delivery room door, staring.

For the first time, the hospital felt truly terrifying to him.

He'd been to the hospital countless times since childhood because of his illnesses. Even though he hated it, it had become routine.

Surgery was even more so. He knew Cheng Yuan would probably be fine, but he couldn't help picturing the worst-case scenario.

He was terrified of losing him...

Pei Qingji hadn't slept well in days. His eyes were sunken with dark circles, and he looked so haggard he might collapse at any moment.

Assistant Lin couldn't stand to watch and stepped forward.

"Sir, you should go get some rest. We'll stay here, and we'll let you know the second anything happens."

But Pei Qingji just shook his head.

He said quietly.

He's in there—how could he possibly leave?

Pei Qingji stood at the delivery room door, from evening until late into the night.

Everyone stood outside, on edge, their hearts racing with worry.

It had been almost three hours, and the surgery still wasn't done.

If it weren't for the nurses coming out to tell them if something went wrong during the procedure, he would've suspected something had happened to him.

He could faintly hear the nurse's voice from the delivery room urging him to push.

"Push, push harder!"

"Just a little longer, I can see the head," the nurse encouraged.

Cheng Yuan gritted his teeth and used every ounce of strength he had.

His face was pale, his forehead drenched in sweat.

"Just hold on a little longer, it'll be out soon."

Cheng Yuan felt like the pain was almost too much to bear.

Tears streamed down his face before he even realized it, blurring his vision and leaving his face a mess.

"Damn it, when is this gonna be over?" Hearing Cheng Yuan's pained cries, Brother Zhou grew more and more anxious.

He paced back and forth outside the delivery room, worry eating at him.

Pei's dad, Pei's mom, and Grandpa Pei stood nearby, growing tense too.

Pei Qingji seemed completely zoned out, not even hearing his mom when she spoke to him, just staring straight at the delivery room.

Seeing her son like this, Pei's mom pressed her lips together.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally heard from inside the delivery room: "Okay, okay, it's out, it's out!"

Then the delivery room door swung open.

A nurse walked out carrying a baby.

Probably because it had just been born, the baby was all wrinkled and red.

But Pei Qingji didn't even seem to notice the baby, quickly stepping forward to ask the nurse.

"Excuse me, can I ask how he's doing?"

"Your wife's fine, don't worry. She's just exhausted from the birth and fell asleep."

Right behind them, someone wheeled Cheng Yuan out.

Pei Qingji hurried over, asking almost frantically.

Hearing that, the weight on his heart finally lifted a little.

_

Cheng Yuan felt like he'd slept for ages, as if he'd caught up on all the sleep he owed.

He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Pei Qingji's worried face.

As his memories came back to him, Cheng Yuan struggled to sit up and asked anxiously.

"Where's the baby?"

"Don't worry."

Pei Qingji quickly reassured him, then brought the baby over for him to see.

Just as he'd imagined, the baby was small and adorable.

A tired smile finally spread across Cheng Yuan's weary face.

He noticed the baby barely cried, and his expression turned a little panicked.

"Why isn't the baby crying?"

Pei Qingji suddenly smiled and gently pinched the baby's little hand. "The doctor said it's normal."

"Maybe our baby's just really well-behaved, knowing he's caused his little dad so much trouble, so he's being good now."

"Don't you think so, Cheng Yan?"

Author's note:

N/A