Chapter 18.2

The dinner Li Xiao bought was also very rich: two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, a dessert, and a bag of pomegranates.

“The vendor hasn’t left yet. I noticed that you like to eat this, so I bought a few more.”

Li Xiao went out to buy food at noon and brought her two pomegranates. He said that he saw someone pulling a cart.

Earlier at noon, Li Xiao had brought her two pomegranates, saying he saw someone with a cart selling them.

Jiang Rou had never been in a relationship before. Her parents had been strict while she was studying—her mother was a junior high school English teacher, and her father was a high school history teacher. Moreover, her older brother had many friends and extensive knowledge. While others’ youth was filled with sweet romance and flirtation, hers was focused entirely on studying and goofing around.

Under such high pressure, it was inevitable that she would become rebellious eventually.

Although there were many boys at her college, she hadn’t been interested in dating anyone at the time. She was busy with training and studying every day. When she returned to the dormitory at night, all she wanted to do was lie down. She didn’t even have time to play with her mobile phone, let alone date.

As a result, Jiang Rou didn’t have much experience in relationships. However, she still noticed Li Xiao’s unintentional thoughtfulness, especially when compared to her lazy brother. She felt that Li Xiao was much better.

While eating, Jiang Rou used a spoon to divide the white rice in the enamel cup into two portions, eating only half of it and leaving the other half untouched.

The same went for the dishes.

Li Xiao glanced at this but said nothing. He peeled a pomegranate, removed the seeds, and put them in a bowl to be eaten after she finished her meal.

Li Xiao was not very talkative, usually leaving the conversation to Jiang Rou.

Jiang Rou said while eating, “I feel like the baby is about to come out, so don’t go back tonight.”

She was worried he might not be there if she went into labor in the middle of the night.

Li Xiao, while peeling the pomegranate skin, did not raise his head and simply responded with a soft “Mm.”

The couple in the middle bed smelled the fragrance of the food and turned their heads from time to time to look. The woman, both hungry and in pain, said to her husband, “Go buy some food.”

The man, lying on the other empty bed—whose previous occupant had left in the afternoon with all their belongings, making the bed available to him—was also hungry. Annoyed by the request, he turned over and said, “Just drink more water.”

He was also hungry, and he turned over angrily when he heard this: “Just drink more water.”

The woman looked a little unhappy, but she didn’t say anything.

She knew that her man was angry that she still hadn’t given birth and had to pay for an extra day’s accommodation fee.

Jiang Rou couldn’t stand it and shared some of the snacks Li Xiao had brought with her, saying, “Here, eat this.”

She had Li Xiao pass them over.

Li Xiao simply placed half the bag of snacks on the middle bed.

The woman looked at Jiang Rou with a mixture of joy and embarrassment.

Jiang Rou said nothing and continued to eat her meal with a smile.

The man lying in bed heard this and turned to look. He suddenly grinned and said to the woman, “Say thank you.”

The woman seemed to remember something and quickly sat up, saying, “Thank you.”

She then carefully took a piece of the chestnut cake, which was ordinary but eaten with great appreciation.

However, after eating a few bites, the man lying on the bed next to her suddenly sat up and took some to eat as well.

Li Xiao, who was facing Jiang Rou, had a darkened expression and was about to get up when Jiang Rou placed a hand on his.

Li Xiao looked up at her.

Jiang Rou gently shook her head, indicating that he should not interfere.

If he punished them, the husband’s attitude toward his wife would only worsen once they were alone, and ultimately, it would be the woman who would suffer.

Li Xiao’s frown didn’t ease, but he did not move.

Seeing him like this, Jiang Rou pursed her lips and smiled, picked up a piece of meat with a spoon, and handed it to his lips.

Li Xiao was slightly stunned, glanced at the piece of meat touching his lips, and then looked up at her again.

Jiang Rou felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze, but since she had already done it, it wasn’t easy to take it back. So, she pretended to be calm and said, “Eat it.”

Li Xiao looked at her intently, then opened his mouth and ate the meat.

He chewed slowly, not really paying attention to the taste, but somehow, it felt different from anything he had eaten before.

—o—o—o—

At around nine o’clock in the evening, after Jiang Rou went to the bathroom, she noticed her pants were a bit wet.

Thinking she might have accidentally wet herself, she reached down and felt her hand was wet too, and there was a warm flow on her leg. Realizing something was wrong, she quickly called out to Li Xiao, “I think my amniotic fluid has broken.”

Li Xiao was sleeping on a makeshift bed in the corridor, where several family members of other patients were also waiting.

He wasn’t sleeping deeply; upon hearing Jiang Rou’s call, he immediately woke up and hurried into the ward to check on her.

Jiang Rou, though momentarily flustered, remained calm when she saw him and instructed, “Go call the nurse and tell her my amniotic fluid has broken.”

Li Xiao turned around and went out with a serious face.

The couple in the adjacent bed was woken by the commotion. The woman on the middle bed was still in pain, groaning, while the man next to her was soundly asleep. Hearing Jiang Rou was in pain, he just lifted the covers to take a look, and, seeing it wasn’t his wife, grumbled a few words under his breath.

The pregnant woman on the middle bed dared not make a sound.

Soon, the doctor and the nurse came over. The doctor touched Jiang Rou’s belly, took her temperature, and finally did an internal examination of her. Jiang Rou screamed in pain on the bed.

Even the pregnant woman in the bed next to her was frightened.

Li Xiao stood at the door, his face slightly pale.

With so many people around, the nearby beds couldn’t sleep. A middle-aged man had quietly come up beside Li Xiao and whispered, “Looking at your wife’s belly, it seems like she’s having a girl.”

He had a lot of children with his wife, so he had done some research on pregnant women’s bellies. Generally, a round belly indicated a girl, while a pointed one signified a boy.

Jiang Rou’s belly was round and smooth, clearly indicating a girl.

When Li Xiao heard this, his expression darkened instantly, and he gave the man a cold glance.

He didn’t like the way the man was staring at Jiang Rou.

The middle-aged man, who only reached Li Xiao’s shoulders, felt a chill run down his spine under Li Xiao’s gaze and thought that he was not someone to mess with.

He assumed that Li Xiao was unhappy with what he said and quickly left.

However, he felt a bit smug, thinking that this time his wife was surely going to have a son.

After the doctor finished the examination, a nurse pushed a trolley over, and two nurses worked together to help Jiang Rou onto the trolley. Li Xiao was just about to follow.

Even at this point, Jiang Rou was still worried and turned her head to instruct him, “Watch the luggage; don’t lose it.”

She was worried about the two people staying in the same ward.

“…”

Li Xiao would never abandon her, so he picked up two large snakeskin bags and followed closely behind.

The group went upstairs to the delivery room, where Li Xiao waited outside.

He wasn’t the only one there—another woman was giving birth in the delivery room across the hall, and sharp cries echoed from inside.

Outside, a large family had gathered, both men and women. 

When they saw Li Xiao carrying two large snakeskin bags, they looked at him with puzzled expressions.

Li Xiao ignored their stares. After a while, a familiar nurse approached him with a stack of papers, asking for his signature.

He flipped through the papers and saw that they stated the hospital and doctors wouldn’t be held responsible, regardless of the outcome. Li Xiao’s face turned pale, and his hands trembled as he signed his name.

After signing, he leaned weakly against the wall, glancing anxiously at the delivery room from time to time.

The wait dragged on through most of the night. At 1:30 in the morning, Jiang Rou’s screams erupted from the delivery room.

Li Xiao, who was waiting outside, felt scared for the first time. His face was pale. He wanted to take out a cigarette but found that his trembling hands couldn’t pull one out of his pocket. In the end, he gave up and sat down against the wall.

His mind was blank.

He didn’t know how long he had waited, but it felt longer than the previous twenty years. Finally, a loud cry from a baby came from the delivery room.

In the opposite delivery room, the waiting family was anxiously hoping for news. When they heard the baby’s cry, they thought it was their own and were about to smile. But then they saw Li Xiao smiling too.

Both sides were momentarily stunned.

At that moment, the delivery room door beside Li Xiao opened from the inside, and a nurse hurriedly approached him and asked, “Have you prepared the baby’s clothes and blankets?”

Li Xiao reacted slowly and stammered, “Yeah, prepared.”

He then bent down anxiously to search through the bag.

Fortunately, Jiang Rou had been well prepared, and everything was neatly arranged inside, making it easy to find what was needed.

The nurse took the clothes and blankets and went back inside, closing the door behind her. Li Xiao didn’t have a chance to ask about the situation inside.

However, he felt a huge sense of relief in his heart. Since they didn’t mention anything, everything must be fine.

A hint of joy appeared on his face.

The family member opposite was a little embarrassed and smiled at Li Xiao.

They continued to anxiously wait for news.

At 2:37 in the morning, the delivery room door was completely opened, and the nurse and doctor came out. One nurse was carrying a small swaddled baby, another two nurses were pushing a stretcher, and a tired-looking doctor walked beside them.

Li Xiao subconsciously looked at Jiang Rou. 

Jiang Rou, lying there, had her eyes half-open and half-closed, and her face was dazed. When she saw him, she frowned slightly, with a hint of unfamiliarity in her eyes.

The doctor explained, “She’s exhausted and fell asleep. She’ll be fine after a rest.”

But the look Jiang Rou gave him earlier was stuck in his mind, and a sense of panic suddenly arose in his heart.

The hands hanging by his side were unconsciously clenched into fists.

The nurse who was holding the child beside him stepped forward, smiling as she lifted a corner of the small quilt. “Look, she’s a beautiful little girl,” she said.

Li Xiao turned his gaze to the swaddled baby. The newborn was red all over, like a cooked duck.

His heart softened.

The nurse then moved Jiang Rou to another ward. This time, the bed was closer to the window.

The room’s other two beds were already occupied, each with a crib beside it.

The nurse brought two blankets and spread them out.

Li Xiao carried Jiang Rou to the bed, and the child slept next to her.

After the nurses and doctors left, Li Xiao took out a towel from the snake-skin bag, dampened it with hot water from the thermos on the wall, and wiped the baby crib beside the sickbed.

After it dried, he took out three small quilts from the snakeskin bag and spread them on. 

After doing all this, he moved a stool to the bedside and quietly watched the mother and child sleep.

In the morning, before dawn, the little one sleeping next to Jiang Rou began to whimper and cry. The nurse came over, picked up the baby, and said that the child was hungry, suggesting that Li Xiao wake Jiang Rou to see if she had any milk.

Li Xiao didn’t want to wake Jiang Rou up, so he said, “We brought milk powder.”

He still remembered Jiang Rou’s instructions to him before that the milk powder of the baby should be soaked in warm water, and 50 ml would be enough to start with. Scoop two spoons of milk powder into the bottle and gently shake it left and right, but not up and down.

The nurse was surprised to see him take out the bottle. There were very few people in this county who loved their children so much.

If there was milk, they would feed it; if not, they would use rice porridge.

Li Xiao handed the prepared formula to the nurse, who looked at it and then placed the baby bottle in the baby’s mouth.

The little one seemed truly hungry and instinctively started to suck. The baby ate very well.

The nurse smiled and said, “This child will grow up to be very good-looking.”

With rosy skin, the child would surely turn out to be fair-skinned. Even with closed eyes, it was apparent that the child had double eyelids, a straight nose, and a red mouth. The couple was exceptionally attractive, and their child inherited the best features.

Moreover, the child’s temperament seemed good. She drank the milk obediently, burped with just a couple of pats, and then closed her eyes to sleep.

The nurse smiled knowingly and handed the child to Li Xiao. “Try holding her for a while,” she said.

Li Xiao stiffly extended his hands to take the baby. She was as soft as a kitten, so fragile that he didn’t dare apply any pressure. He stood frozen, not moving an inch.

Fortunately, the baby was well-behaved. Even though she was uncomfortably held, she didn’t cry and instead yawned delicately.

The nurse adjusted the baby’s position before moving on to the next bed.

Li Xiao held his daughter for a while longer before gently placing her in the crib to sleep.

The man in the middle bed was a retired soldier. Li Xiao asked him to keep an eye on the baby for a moment while he went to get some hot water.

The man agreed, and Li Xiao took the thermos and went out.

There were many people waiting to get hot water in the morning, so Li Xiao waited a long time before it was his turn. After filling the thermos, he ran into the retired soldier at the water room door. The man smiled at him and said, “Your wife has woken up.”

Li Xiao’s body stiffened.

He nodded at the soldier and walked towards the ward. When he arrived at the door of the ward, he paused, pursed his lips, and gently pushed the door open. He instinctively looked up to see the figure by the window.

Jiang Rou, who was sitting on the bed, seemed to notice something and looked over. When she met his gaze, her eyes curled into a smile.

Seeing the familiar smile, the man’s throat tightened, and his eyes grew warm with an unspoken sense of relief he hadn’t even realized.

He strode over to the bedside and asked softly, “When did you wake up?”

Jiang Rou nodded weakly. “I just woke up.”

Her face still looked a bit haggard.

Li Xiao prepared a bowl of milk powder for her. “Don’t sleep just yet. I’ll go home and make something for you to eat. You can sleep after you’ve eaten.”

Since Jiang Rou and the baby had been sleeping earlier, he hadn’t dared to leave them alone. Now that Jiang Rou was awake, he felt it was okay to go.

Jiang Rou nodded and told him to go and come back quickly.

Li Xiao promised to return soon and turned to leave.

He went downstairs, rode his bicycle quickly to the vegetable market, and bought pigeons, crucian carp, pig’s trotters, soybeans, and some vegetables.

A few days earlier, Aunt Wang had come to tell him what pregnant women should eat and how to cook for them after giving birth, and he had remembered it all.

When he got home, Li Xiao quickly fried vegetables and stewed pigeons, pig’s trotters, and soybeans for Jiang Rou’s lunch and dinner.

He didn’t cook rice himself, so he bought a portion from a restaurant on his way. Cooking rice took too much time.

When he returned to the county hospital, only an hour had passed.

Jiang Rou thought he must have flown here.

However, seeing him drenched in sweat, she felt a bit of pity. “You don’t need to hurry so much. I’m not that hungry. Sit down and rest for a while.”

“Okay.”

Although Li Xiao agreed, he set the food down, then took out a basin and mugwort leaves, poured hot water from the thermos into the basin, and let it cool for Jiang Rou to wash her face after eating.

He then went to get more hot water.

Watching Li Xiao’s busy figure, the woman in the next bed couldn’t help but smile and say, “Your man is really good.”

Jiang Rou also smiled, feeling somewhat satisfied.

During childbirth, she felt both pain and grievance. Her sister-in-law had family members around during her delivery, while she had no relatives with her.

But now, seeing Li Xiao’s efforts, though he didn’t say much, he took good care of her.

There was nothing left to complain about.

After Jiang Rou finished eating, Li Xiao helped her brush her teeth and wash her face.

Feeling sleepy again soon after eating and drinking, she fell asleep quickly.

Once she was asleep, Li Xiao dared to hold her hand, and his eyebrows relaxed.

The ward was very quiet. He gently stroked her palm and, after a while, couldn’t help but lean close to her ear and whisper softly, “No matter what happens, don’t leave, okay?”

Jiang Rou seemed to be disturbed by the noise. She hummed softly and turned her head.

Li Xiao smiled and kissed her temple.

—o—o—o—

Lucia: I think he knows something~

—o—o—o—