Extra Story 16
She wasn’t sure if it was just her memory blocking out the pain.
When she was giving birth, Chen Cheng felt like the pain was so bad she wanted to die, even fainting didn’t seem like an option.
But just a few days later, when she thought back to those hours in the delivery room that felt like hell, it didn’t seem that painful anymore. She even felt like her period cramps might’ve been worse, or maybe the current pain during recovery was worse than childbirth.
The memory of that day had become fuzzy. All she could remember clearly was that it felt like she was trying to “push out something way too big”...
After staying in the hospital for a few days, the whole family went back home.
Those few days felt like a dream to Chen Cheng. When she stepped out of the elevator and smelled the familiar scent of home, her body instantly relaxed. She couldn't help but stretch, which then pulled at the tear from her natural birth, causing her to hiss and gasp for air, bending over in pain.
Hearing her, An Yuan quickly came over and held her up gently, feeling worried.
"Just rest well these days. Let our mothers take care of the baby for now," he said.
Behind them, An Yuan’s mother was holding their precious granddaughter, smiling so much that her face was full of wrinkles.
"Yes, yes, your mom and I will help take care of the baby for now."
"Sisi, be good~ Say 'grandma,' say 'grandma~'" Chen Cheng’s mother teased the baby in the aunt’s arms and nodded in agreement.
"We’ll both help you, so don’t worry."
"That’s your grandma~"
"Ah ba ah ba~"
Chen Cheng’s father and An Yuan’s father had already gone back to work. Since her mom and aunt had more free time, they were available to help the new mom take care of the baby.
But deep down, Chen Cheng wasn’t happy about it. Still, since her body hadn’t recovered yet, she had no choice but to agree for now.
Letting her mom take care of the baby… wouldn’t that just create another little “Chen Cheng”?
She kept turning her head as she walked, looking back at the baby in her aunt’s arms, feeling anxious. She was scared that something might happen if the baby was out of her sight for too long.
Seeing this, An Yuan gently pulled her hand and led her inside. "They have much more experience than you. Now, what do you want to eat today?"
"Should I cook something big for you, or should we order some fancy takeout?"
"Hmm… takeout?" Chen Cheng asked hesitantly. "Can we get grilled fish?"
Surprisingly, her mom didn’t complain about takeout and happily nodded. "Yes, you should eat something you like. You haven’t had that in almost a year!"
Actually, Chen Cheng had secretly eaten takeout a few times during pregnancy, her mom just didn’t know.
"Then I’ll order it right now," said An Yuan, immediately opening the food delivery app on his phone. Chen Cheng quietly walked off toward the guest bathroom in the living room.
"I’m going to the bathroom first."
In the bathroom, Chen Cheng shut and locked the door. She stood in front of the mirror.
Ever since she had gained weight during pregnancy, she hadn’t really looked at herself in the mirror. Even though she used to be a boy, she had always cared a lot about looks. So she was especially sensitive about her face and body changing.
After several months, she could finally take a proper look at herself.
"So ugly..."
The person in the mirror looked very tired. There were faint dark circles under her eyes. Her skin was still okay, but she looked pale and weak. Her hair was messy, tied into a loose ponytail with no care.
She rarely wore makeup before, but at least she always looked neat and clean. Now, she couldn’t even say she looked clean, she looked more like a woman in her thirties.
Chen Cheng frowned, grabbed a towel, and scrubbed her face hard. Then she looked again, still with a blank face.
There wasn’t much change. But at least, now that she was out of the hospital, she could finally take a proper shower and freshen up tonight.
She suddenly remembered something, lowered her head, lifted the loose hem of her clothes, pulled it up below her chest, and saw that the skin around her lower abdomen was covered with dark purple stretch marks. When she touched them, she could feel faint undulations...
Not only that, the weight gain and swelling from pregnancy still hadn’t completely gone away. Her waist looked a lot bigger now.
Her mood instantly got worse.
“Chengcheng! Sisi is hungry!”
“Coming!”
Even though she was in a bad mood, Chen Cheng had to pull herself together. She put on a gentle, motherly smile, determined to be a kind and loving mom in her daughter’s eyes.
Her daughter was only a few days old and wouldn’t remember anything yet, but they say the first three years are the most important for building a child’s personality.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Cheng walked out of the bathroom. The sharp, loud crying made her lips twitch.
“I’m coming~”
Chen Cheng went back to the living room and picked up her daughter. She hurried to open her shirt to breastfeed, but then realized there were others in the room, her auntie, her mother, and An Yuan.
So she quickly turned around and walked to the bedroom with her daughter in her arms.
“Still shy, huh?” An Yuan’s mother laughed while covering her mouth. “You weren’t shy in the hospital!”
Back then, she had just given birth, who had the energy to be shy in the hospital? Now that she was at home and more comfortable, there was no need to do this in front of everyone!
To be honest, pregnancy and childbirth had really lowered Chen Cheng’s sense of shame.
“There, there~ don’t cry~ Mom’s here~”
She skillfully carried her daughter and fed her, even though it made her frown in pain.
Now she understood why people say “using the strength of a baby sucking milk” to describe something that takes a lot of effort.
Even after feeding, her daughter kept crying loudly. Chen Cheng, feeling overwhelmed, held her nose and changed the diaper. Finally, the baby calmed down and, tired from crying, fell asleep in her arms.
Chen Cheng gently placed her into the baby stroller and let out a long, tired sigh.
“Why is it so quiet now?”
Not hearing any noise, An Yuan opened the door and peeked in.
“Shhh! She’s asleep.”
“Asleep? That’s good.” An Yuan held a home surveillance camera in his hand. “I’ll set up this camera, so we can see her from anywhere.”
“Keep it down, don’t wake her up.”
An Yuan tiptoed in, placed the camera on the desk, pointed it at the crib, plugged it in, and connected it to his phone.
“All set.”
He sat down beside Chen Cheng and gently squeezed her thin shoulders.
“You’ve worked so hard~”
“Hmph~” Chen Cheng gave him a sideways glance. “You’re only good at sweet-talking.”
Before, Chen Cheng had a bit of a cute and pure look. But after giving birth, she now had the full charm of a mature woman. Even her eye-rolls were full of graceful beauty, like she could steal someone’s soul with just a look. For a moment, An Yuan was stunned by her look, and little An Yuan instantly perked up.
Chen Cheng noticed his reaction right away and secretly felt proud that she was still attractive.
“You pervert!”
“It just means you’re too beautiful!”
That suddenly hit a sensitive spot in Chen Cheng. Her mood dropped right away.
She lowered her head and played with her nails, mumbling softly, “I look awful now... fat and ugly... and my skin has all these lines like centipedes crawled on me...”
“I bought some stretch mark gel. Want to try it after your shower?”
“Those things don’t work, right?”
People say stretch marks happen because the skin stretches too much during pregnancy and the inner layers tear. It’s like the lines people get from gaining weight. There’s no real way to get rid of them. At most, the color fades over time and becomes less noticeable.
“Well, why not try? I already bought it. I can even help you massage it in.”
Chen Cheng didn’t say anything. She just rested her head on An Yuan’s shoulder and stared blankly at her sleeping daughter.
An Yuan rubbed the back of her head gently, also watching their daughter sleep. After a few days, the baby finally didn’t look so wrinkly and weird. Now they could truly say she looked cute.
For some reason, both of them laughed at the same time.
“She’s so cute~”
“Yeah.”