Extra Story 14
Just like Chen Cheng expected, her contractions started coming regularly, so she had to stay in the hospital to wait for the baby to be born.
She was in a hospital room meant for two people.
Maybe because birth rates had been low in recent years, the maternity ward was pretty quiet. Chen Cheng was the only one in her room.
She was quite happy about that. After all, the room had its own bathroom, a balcony, and a TV. She had even brought her game console, so she wouldn’t get too bored during her stay.
Since there was an extra bed in the room, An Yuan stayed with her. But her mom and aunt didn’t want to leave either. They stayed by her side, constantly talking.
“If it’s a boy, let’s name him Qingyuan? An Qingyuan, sounds nice, right?” her aunt said with a smile as she peeled a pear for Chen Cheng.
“I think that name sounds good too,” her mom agreed. “If it’s a girl, how about Xinyi?”
Chen Cheng rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that name a bit too common?”
She didn’t want to give the baby a super unique or weird name, but “Xinyi” was way too overused.
“Then how about Mucheng?” An Yuan joined in. “An Mucheng or An Sicheng, both sound pretty nice.”
“Ew~ Won’t you be embarrassed hearing that name a few years from now?”
Chen Cheng was a bit shy by nature, and names that sounded like love confessions made her feel awkward. But An Yuan didn’t seem to care at all.
“I think they’re great.”
“Fine, I don’t mind then,” Chen Cheng muttered as she looked down at her game console. While waiting for the baby, the game console was her only fun.
The contractions came from time to time, and she had totally given up on trying to look good. Her hair was messy, her forehead and hairline always had a thin layer of sweat. This was probably the most tired and sloppy she had ever looked in her life.
Her mom and aunt kept chatting away next to her, talking about how to take care of a baby, how to deal with not having enough breast milk or too much milk, and happily imagining a future full of grandchildren.
“Chengzi has big breasts, so she’ll definitely have enough milk.”
“Her hips are wide too, she should be able to give birth naturally, right?”
Chen Cheng felt a headache coming on just listening to them. She rolled her eyes and shifted uncomfortably.
Even though she’d been through a lot of awkward pregnancy stuff, it was still hard for her to deal with all this talk in front of the older generation.
“Mom, what if something happens, and you have to choose between the baby and me?”
Chen Cheng suddenly changed the subject, and her mom smacked her forehead without hesitation. It hurt so much she grabbed her head and yelled in pain.
“Don’t say such unlucky things!”
Her aunt gave her a glare too. “Can’t you say something nice? Like wishing for both of you to be safe?”
“I’m just saying... what if...”
“Chengzi is always like this, talks without thinking,” An Yuan sighed. “She’s gotten even sillier after getting pregnant. I’m worried about our kid’s intelligence.”
“You’re the silly one! Come 1v1 me in-game!”
Of course, An Yuan wouldn’t dare try to win against Chen Cheng right now. He laughed and said, “Our kid is totally going to get into Tsinghua or Peking University someday!”
“That’s not necessary,” Chen Cheng tilted her head and thought. “As long as they’re healthy and happy, that’s enough.”
Now that she was about to become a mom, she started to understand a bit of what parents feel, wanting to give their child what they didn’t have, to make up for their own regrets, to see their hopes in their child...
But Chen Cheng had always been pretty chill. Most of her regrets were about her own flaws.
“Healthy body and mind, sunny and cheerful, stays on the right path, gets into an okay university, can support themselves and live happily. That’s good enough, right?” She looked at An Yuan, hoping he’d agree. “Right?”
Before An Yuan could say anything, Chen Cheng’s mom already frowned unhappily.
"How can that be enough? She should go to a good university, get a good job. We’re still counting on them to take care of you two when you’re old."
"Just not relying on us for money would already be nice~" An Yuan joked with a teasing tone.
Luckily, her mom didn’t catch the sarcasm and kept talking about how raising kids was like preparing for old age, raising future talents for the country, continuing the family line, and so on.
Her aunt nodded again and again. "Exactly. That’s why it’s better to have a son..."
Chen Cheng was already used to this. She and An Yuan just smiled and nodded politely, pretending to listen seriously, but the words went in one ear and out the other.
So annoying~
Her mom and aunt were open-minded in some ways, but because of the time they grew up in and their level of education, they sometimes said things that really didn’t match Chen Cheng’s own values. They kept trying to convince her of their opinions, which really bothered her. And since they were elders, it was hard to argue back.
"It’s almost lunchtime. Mom, Auntie, how about you go get something from the cafeteria?"
An Yuan could tell Chen Cheng was getting annoyed and tried to gently send the two elders away. "Don’t let Chengzi go hungry."
"Okay. Chengzi, do you want us to buy anything else?"
"Cola?"
"No way! You’re going to be a mom. Be more responsible!"
Then why did you even ask?
Chen Cheng looked down and played with her game console. Once her mom and aunt left the room, she finally let out a sigh of relief and started complaining to An Yuan.
"From the way they were talking, if I have a girl, they’ll probably start pressuring us to have a second kid."
"No way we’re doing that," An Yuan grumbled. "You’re already going through so much pain, one is enough."
"Exactly!"
To be honest, after seeing everything Chen Cheng had gone through during the pregnancy, An Yuan felt happy at first, but most of the time he just worried and felt sorry for her.
He leaned against her shoulder and gently rubbed her shoulders, arms, and legs, trying to help her relax.
"It’ll hurt even more when the baby actually comes out."
"Yeah... I’m scared now. These contractions already hurt so bad. I’m starting to regret this."
Chen Cheng pulled in her neck like a scared turtle and tried to comfort herself. "But maybe it won’t be that bad? I’ve survived period pain for years."
She even had the energy to joke with An Yuan. "If I had been sent into a girl’s body and made to have a baby right away, I would’ve died from the pain. But now? I think I’m super strong! My pain tolerance is MAX level!"
An Yuan gave her a look. "The only tough part about you is your mouth."
"Hey! You’re starting again..."
But they hadn’t rested for long when another contraction came. Chen Cheng curled up in pain, tears rolling down her face. She cried out without meaning to and still remembered to push An Yuan away.
"Go, go, get out!"
"Doctor! Doctor!"
An Yuan rushed out to call the nurse, then waited right outside the room. Once the doctor and nurse went in, he quietly closed the door behind them.
Chen Cheng was shy, she didn’t want An Yuan in the room for some of the more embarrassing checkups.
He paced nervously in the hallway, sweating as he listened to her weak cries of pain. From time to time, he peeked through the little window on the door.
"Is everything going to be okay?"
It seemed like the pain got worse each time. At first, she was able to hold it in and just groan quietly, but now she was crying out loud.
An Yuan stopped a doctor who had just come out. "Doctor! What’s happening? Is she okay?"
"You’re the husband? She’ll go into the delivery room in about two hours. If everything goes smoothly, the baby should be born by evening."
"Two more hours?"
"Depends on how things go. Stay with your wife. Help her relax. Walk around with her in the room a bit."
"Okay, got it."
An Yuan nodded quickly, still looking back into the room.
Why go through all this pain just to have a baby...?
He felt so sorry for Chen Cheng, his brow furrowed in worry.