Extra Story 13
The closer it got to the due date, the more anxious Chen Cheng felt.
It wasn’t just because the baby was about to arrive, her mom and auntie had also moved in and were now with her 24/7. Even when she walked, someone was always holding her arm. It made her feel really uncomfortable.
She was still an adult, after all. Sure, it was hard to move around during pregnancy, but did they really have to treat her like she was half-paralyzed?
"Mom, you don’t need to hold me," Chen Cheng said, pulling her arm away. "I’m just going to the bathroom."
"Still, what if you fall in there?"
"How could I fall... It’s just a few steps."
Looking at her mom’s face full of concern, Chen Cheng couldn’t bring herself to say more. So, helplessly, she let her mom walk her to the bathroom door. But she refused to let her come in and shut the door with a loud "bang."
Seriously, no sense of personal boundaries!
Her mom sighed and turned to complain, "We’re here to take care of her, but she acts all unwilling."
Her aunt, busy putting together the baby crib, didn’t even look up. "Then come help me. There’s still a ton of stuff that needs to be sorted."
Lately, the house looked like a storage room. Delivery boxes filled the hallway. The crib and stroller needed assembly, and baby clothes, diapers, formula. Everything was scattered all over the place.
The house used to be clean and tidy, aside from all the cat hair floating around. Now, it was hard to even find a place to put your feet in the living room.
When Chen Cheng came out of the bathroom, she peeked into the living room where her mom and aunt were still busy. "Do you need help?"
"Go lie down on the bed."
"Okay~"
She figured she could at least build a crib, but since her mom and aunt wouldn’t let her do anything. All she could do was slowly shuffle her way into the master bedroom and sit on the bed.
As the due date approached, she felt a heavy pressure in her lower belly, along with constant back and waist pain. Sitting wasn’t comfortable, and lying down wasn’t any better.
She leaned against the headboard and started playing with her phone, grumbling in her mind the whole time.
So annoying!
This is my house, okay?!
Sure, her mom was probably the person she was closest to in the world, but she just loved to control everything and didn’t know how to give people space. She often crossed the line into Chen Cheng’s privacy, which made her uncomfortable with her mom staying long-term.
Then she heard the front door open. Chen Cheng quickly got up and peeked out of the bedroom, and sure enough, she saw An Yuan coming in.
"An Yuan! Did you get time off?"
"Yup. I’ll be staying with you from now on."
Even when he was working, An Yuan was only a ten-minute walk from home. If there was an emergency, he could get back in just a few minutes with a single phone call. His job had regular hours too, nine to five, with lots of free time.
But with the due date so close, he still decided to stay home full-time, even if Chen Cheng kept saying things like "You don’t have to," or "Go do your own thing."
Sure enough, the moment she heard he was off work, a big smile appeared on her face.
"Come here, come here~"
"Coming~" An Yuan tiptoed through the clutter and stopped in front of the bedroom door.
Before he could say anything, Chen Cheng pulled him into the room and quickly closed and locked the door.
"Wait, what are you doing? The baby’s almost due, don’t get any crazy ideas!"
An Yuan looked shocked, like a shy young lady trying to protect himself, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back to keep some distance.
"An Yuan! My mom is driving me crazy! She’s been at our place all day, every day, and she won’t leave!"
Turns out, Chen Cheng just wanted to complain about her mom in private.
An Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief and sat on the bed with Chen Cheng, gently comforting her, “They’re just worried about you~ We can’t leave you home alone, right? I wouldn’t feel safe going to work.”
“Well, now you’re on leave! Quick, go! Kick them out!”
“Uh...”
This was a tough problem.
An Yuan scratched his head, feeling stuck. “It’s our first baby. Isn’t it nice to have them help out?”
“I guess...” Chen Cheng sighed and flopped down on the bed. She muttered, “But with them here, I can’t even order takeout.”
“No problem. I’ll cook something tasty for you tonight. What do you want to eat?”
“Grilled fish!”
“Something lighter, maybe hotpot?”
“Ew~” Chen Cheng turned her head in dislike. Their homemade hotpot was usually boiled in bone broth and super light, even more bland than stir-fried dishes.
She didn’t hate hotpot, but she was clearly annoyed that her request got rejected.
“The baby’s coming soon. After that, you can eat whatever you want, no rush,” An Yuan said in a soft, coaxing tone, like he was talking to a kid. He tried to distract her, “Wanna play a game? Play duo?”
“My mom won’t let me play much,” Chen Cheng complained. “She keeps saying there’s radiation. Every time I sit at the computer, she won’t stop talking. But the sun has radiation too, right? Yet she keeps telling me to go outside and get some sun!”
An Yuan gave a helpless smile, and then saw Chen Cheng suddenly frown.
“What’s wrong? Did the baby kick you again?”
“No... It feels weird.”
Chen Cheng sat up, looking confused and serious. Seeing her like that, An Yuan didn’t dare say a word. He just stared at her nervously.
“It’s fine, just a sudden little pain.”
She looked down and kept playing with her phone, her other hand supporting her sore lower back. These kinds of pains had been happening lately, once or twice a day, so it didn’t seem like a big deal.
“You scared me.” An Yuan sighed in relief and shifted to sit behind her, gently massaging her shoulders. He casually asked, “What game are you playing lately?”
“Moba Auto Chess! I just won with a three-star Monkey King! Totally unstoppable! Let me show you!”
As soon as the topic turned to games, Chen Cheng forgot all her earlier complaints. She excitedly opened the app to show off her match history.
“Look! Look! Let’s play together tonight! Loser has to do the dishes.”
“No way. You always cheat and act like you didn’t lose. Plus, that was a 2v1! Unfair!”
“When did I ever cheat?! And what did you mean by 2v1?! Hey—!”
Suddenly, Chen Cheng frowned again. This time, the pain was stronger. Her belly felt tight, and the pressure in her lower abdomen became more obvious.
The pain felt like period cramps, spreading quickly to her waist and stomach. Her whole lower body ached, and she couldn’t help clenching her fists and stretching her feet straight, trying to handle the pain.
“Something feels off...” Chen Cheng finally managed to speak, looking dazedly at An Yuan.
“Could this mean I’m going into labor?”
An Yuan jumped up from the bed. “Then I’ll take you to the hospital right now! Mom! Mom! Chengzi is going into labor!”
Chen Cheng panicked and tried to stop him. “I’m just guessing! What if I’m wrong? No need to make a big deal out of it!”
“But what if you’re right?”
The next second, her mom and aunt burst into the room in a hurry.
“Quick, quick, get Chengzi in the car!”
“Even if it’s not time yet, we can wait at the hospital!”
Chen Cheng was lifted up on both sides. She quickly looked back and shouted to An Yuan.
“Bring my game console! Don’t forget the charger!”
“Still thinking about games?!”
“Meow meow meow!”
Even the silly cat came running over, meowing nonstop. The whole house instantly turned into a chaotic mess.