TPW – Chapter 104

Xu Haizhou was so anxious that sweat was pouring from his head. Just as he was about to lift his wife, a chubby little hand suddenly stretched out, stopping him.

“Wait, wait, wait… I think it stopped hurting…” As soon as the words were spoken, three pairs of eyes anxiously stared at Qiao Lu’s belly. They lifted her shirt and examined carefully.

Two minutes later—

“Huh? Really, it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m dizzy.”

A false alarm. Just a bluff.

This kid! Such a little troublemaker for his parents!

If it’s a boy, Xu Haizhou swore he’d spank his butt when he came out!

If it’s a girl, well-behaved or not—if she wasn’t sensible, still a spanking!

Just last night they were thinking how this child was so troublesome, and by dawn the next day, Qiao Lu’s belly began acting up again. The little rascal continued to torment Mom and Dad, living up to expectations.

This time, it was real—and without any warning. It woke Qiao Lu up from her sleep in pain, moaning between her teeth, drenched in cold sweat.

“Hai… Haizhou… wake up, it hurts… it hurts so much…”

Xu Haizhou snapped awake instantly, too alarmed to be confused. He jumped out of bed purely on instinct and began executing the emergency plan they’d rehearsed multiple times before.

He grabbed the little bundle they had prepared earlier, which included bedding, snacks, and miscellaneous items. He first carried everything downstairs to a designated bike parking area. A few days ago, Xu Haizhou had parked a tricycle there in preparation. He threw all the luggage on it, spread a thick quilt inside the cart, and finally carried the mother of his child down.

Not daring to waste even a second, he pedaled madly toward the nearest hospital to Nanhu Garden.

“An’an, hurry back upstairs and wait at home. After Mommy gives birth to your little sister, Daddy will come get you.” He turned and instructed Qiao An, who had just come running down.

The little guy froze on the spot, fidgeting with his fingers, his face streaked with tears. “Daddy, I… I’m scared. Can I go with you? I’m scared—”

Then he suddenly burst into tears and ran forward, clinging to Mommy, refusing to let go.

“An’an, don’t cry, don’t cry.” Qiao Lu weakly stretched out her hand, trembling as she wiped the tears from his face.

There was no time to delay, so Xu Haizhou had no choice but to say, “Alright, climb up quickly, come on!”

The little one scrambled onto the tricycle, hugging Qiao Lu tightly, refusing to let go.

On the way, the only sound was Qiao An’s soft muttering.

“Mommy, I’m scared. An’an is a little scared.”

“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. It’s okay.”

“Mommy, where does the baby sister come out from? How long will it take?”

Qiao Lu didn’t know how to answer the first question, and the pain in her body made it impossible to speak. The contractions came in waves, and the pain was unbearable. Every time it struck, she could only dig her nails into her thighs, trying to ease the pain a little.

She was struggling to breathe, so she gave a short reply to her son, just two words: “Very soon.”

Qiao An saw her suffering, and it hurt his heart. His face was covered in tears and snot, and he cried his heart out: “Mommy, let’s never have any more little sisters or brothers again. I don’t want Mommy to hurt, no more, wahhhh—”

“Okay, okay.”

Qiao Lu tilted her head back, heavy breaths huffing from her nose.

“Mommy, I made a wish. I asked Buddha Grandpa to protect you and keep you safe.”

“Good boy.”

Along the way, having Qiao An to distract her attention really did help ease the pain a little, even if just barely.

By the time Xu Haizhou got her to the hospital, she was already numb from the pain.

It had rained last night, and today the sun was blazing. Steam from the ground absorbed heat, and the poorly ventilated room felt like a steamer, unbearably hot.

Qiao Lu was placed on a surgical bed by the doctor, but since her contractions weren’t strong enough yet, she couldn’t start delivering the baby just yet.

Xu Haizhou had found a book somewhere and was using it to fan her. Qiao An asked Daddy to tear off two pages for him, mimicking his dad to fan Mommy as well.

Qiao Lu felt so comforted. For a moment, she truly felt that the pain she was enduring for Xu Haizhou was worth it—truly worth it.

She wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the pain from her belly turned her lips pale. It hurt so badly she couldn’t even scream, her eyes squeezed shut.

Both of her hands gripped Xu Haizhou’s right hand tightly—so tightly that there was no gap at all.

She was trying to transfer her pain into his palm, hoping he could feel even one-ten-thousandth of what she was going through.

In that moment, Qiao Lu just wished there were a way—any method—to get the baby out of her immediately!

Any way at all, as long as he came out now… She finally understood why there were news stories of women begging doctors on their knees to give them C-sections.

Later, sweat trickled from her hair into her eyes. A hand came free and gently wiped her face.

Then came a rustling sound, and a piece of fragrant, crispy peach pastry was brought to her lips.

A voice, full of heartache and trembling, sounded in her ear: “Eat a little more, eat more. Don’t run out of energy when it’s time to push.”

Contractions came and went in waves. When that worst wave of pain passed, Qiao Lu quickly took a bite of the peach pastry.

Right now, if she didn’t conserve her strength, once she entered the operating room, she might truly not have the energy to give birth.

Heavens… this is something she never wanted to experience a second time in her life!

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her cervix was fully dilated, and Qiao Lu was finally wheeled into the operating room!

Xu Haizhou anxiously held his son’s hand, waiting outside. Both father and son stood there expectantly, with identical expressions of worry and anticipation.

Clang—

The doors to the operating room closed tightly, and two pairs of eyes stared silently at them.

It was as if Xu Haizhou’s very soul had been wheeled in along with that operating bed.

He didn’t even hear what his son was saying.

“Daddy, daddy.”

“Hmm? What is it, An’an?”

Snapping back to reality, Xu Haizhou squatted down and gently picked the little one into his arms, breathing in the soft, milky scent of his son to draw strength from it.

Yes, right now Xu Haizhou needed to draw strength from Qiao An to keep himself from collapsing in fear.

“Daddy, I’m scared, I’m scared.” Qiao An’s trembling voice was laced with sobs, and the small hand clutching Xu Haizhou’s shirt was shaking uncontrollably.

He was so afraid—afraid that once Mom went in, she wouldn’t come back out.

He could read the three words on the glass door: “Operating Room.” And he knew that meant Mom was going in for surgery, and surgery meant—meant a person was seriously, seriously sick, and needed doctors to save them!

That was very dangerous, so dangerous it could mean… death.

“Wuwuwu—I want Mama, I want Mama—” This child had a keener sense of perception than most kids and was even more prone to imagining worst-case scenarios.

Maybe his mom was actually doing fine in there, but the moment he started crying, he nearly dragged Xu Haizhou into tears too.

“Don’t be afraid, Mama will be out soon. She’ll come out safe and sound.”

Such weak and pale words of comfort—when in truth, the anxiety in his heart was no less than Qiao An’s.

Giving birth was like taking a trip to the gates of hell.

When Xu Haizhou was a child, he had personally witnessed two neighboring women die from childbirth.

It was those traumatic memories that often made him reluctant to have Qiao Lu bear children.

He truly loved her—loved her so much. If anything happened to her… it would be too cruel.

He couldn’t even imagine what his life would be like afterward—how bleak and gray it would be.

It would be like gaining the light only to be plunged back into darkness.

Please, let nothing go wrong.

Heaven, Buddha, please bless her.

He clasped his hands together in prayer, mimicking Qiao An’s gesture.

One big, one small—kneeling in front of the operating room like devout worshippers. Passersby couldn’t help but stop and look curiously.

Half an hour later, Xu Haizhou gradually calmed down. He took out his pager and contacted Qiao Yan, then sent a message to Li Hongjun, asking him to send someone from the state-run restaurant to bring some nutritious meals suitable for a postpartum mother to the hospital.

Another half hour passed, and while Qiao Lu still hadn’t come out, Qiao Yan arrived with the whole family.

Twenty minutes after that, Li Hongjun also came—one person wasn’t enough, so he brought a junior staff member too. Four hands, four insulated food containers.

Three hours later, the operating room doors finally swung open. A nurse came out first, holding a swaddled newborn, followed by two doctors pushing a small trolley.

“Who’s the child’s father? Come take the baby.”

“I am, I am!” Xu Haizhou raised his hand eagerly and stepped forward, but he wanted to rush to the back and check on his wife first.

The nurse chuckled and grabbed his arm, “Not so fast—hold your baby first.”

“How’s my wife?” Flustered, he took the baby, but having never held such a tiny child before, he was completely clueless. It took the nurse quite a while to teach him how to do it properly.

Such a dummy.

“Mother and daughter are both safe. Come on, we’ll move your wife to the room.”

A group quickly followed the nurse as she wheeled Qiao Lu’s hospital bed into a ward.

They moved fast, too fast. Everyone’s attention was focused on Qiao Lu and the newborn, so no one noticed the little one trailing behind, hurriedly trying to catch up.

“Wuwuwu—wait for me, wait for me! I want to see Mama, I want to see my little sister—”

Qiao Lu was the first new mother to give birth at the hospital that day. When she entered the ward, it was empty, not a soul in sight.

Xu Haizhou placed the baby gently on the empty bed next to hers and rushed over to check on his wife.

“Qiao Lu, Qiao Lu.” His burning hands tightly held hers.

Her palm was soaked in sweat, as if it had been washed with it.

Exhaustion was written all over her face. Her complexion was so pale it looked like a layer of powder had been applied—almost translucent, as if she could be whisked away by a breeze at any moment…

He leaned down and gently kissed her temple, full of heartache.

“You’ve worked hard. I love you.”

A strange, electrifying feeling passed through her heart, leaving it tingling and numb.

Even though she was too tired to speak, Qiao Lu still forced a smile and asked, “The baby? How is she? Who does she look like?”

“A girl—looks like you.” Honestly, Xu Haizhou wasn’t sure who the baby resembled. He only took one look before his eyes were glued to Qiao Lu.

Besides, who could tell who a newborn resembled?

Truthfully, Qiao Lu felt very happy. Especially when the nurse opened the OR door and she saw a crowd of familiar faces waiting for her—it filled her chest with warmth and joy.

“Qiao An, where did you go? Your little sister’s over here!”

“Come quick! Look at your sister! She looks just like you did when you were little!” Qiao Yan happily called out to the little guy.

Finally squeezing into the ward, Qiao An looked around anxiously, wide-eyed and searching for something.

“Mama? Why can’t I see Mama?” He spun around like a headless fly.

“An’an…” Qiao Lu called weakly, and only then did the child spot her figure hidden behind someone.

He ran over in a flash, shoved his father aside, and shouted, “Mama!”

Qiao An hugged his mother’s arm tightly, pressing his little face against her sweat-drenched skin: “Mama, you were hiding here? Mama, did you give birth to my sister? How did you do it? Did they cut open your belly? Mama, does it hurt? I can blow on it for you!”

In that instant, the heart that had just been filled with emotion overflowed with joy.

Qiao Lu looked at him lovingly and said with deep contentment, “Good boy. Mama doesn’t need you to blow, I’ll be fine after a nap.”

Qiao An jumped up excitedly: “Then Mama, go to sleep quickly! I’ll be here waiting for you, I’ll stay right here!”

His innocence and sweetness made Qiao Lu laugh, even though the laugh tugged at the pain below.

“You little rascal, trying to coax me now, huh?”

Qiao An giggled, turned to his father, and waved him off: “Daddy, Daddy, tell everyone to leave. Mama needs to sleep—it’s too noisy in here.”

The way he spoke like a little grown-up made his father laugh too.

Rubbing his hair affectionately, Xu Haizhou kissed his chubby cheek: “Alright.”

Mama needed rest, and so did the newborn. In the end, only Qiao An stayed in the ward while Xu Haizhou escorted the relatives and friends out.

Once everyone had left and the room fell completely quiet, it finally became a truly warm and peaceful moment shared by their family of four.