Afterward, Xiao Su followed Jiang Xiaobai into the delivery room while both their parents stood outside, waiting anxiously. When they heard that Xiao Su was going to follow his wife into the delivery room, Du Xiaoyu felt embarrassed. “Sigh. Is it appropriate for the husband to go in while a lady is giving birth?”
Liang Yahe, standing nearby, was quick to respond. “Of course it’s appropriate. If he doesn’t go in, how will he know the pain we, as women, go through during labor? Besides, they are husband and wife. There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Don’t worry.”
Giving birth was an experience most women went through. Besides, Du Xiaoyu had experienced it herself before. However, when it was her daughter’s turn, she was so anxious she couldn’t stay still; she was pacing around endlessly. In the end, Jiang Yanke stopped her. “Stop pacing about. It’s giving me a headache.”
“I’m not pacing about. I’m worried about my daughter. Xiaobai is terrified of pain. Sigh.”
“Don’t worry. From today onward, she is no longer a little girl, but a mother. She will become stronger.”
“That’s true.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Jiang. Xiao Su is accompanying Xiaobai inside. Xiaobai and her child will come out safe and sound without any issues.”
While the doctor was making preparations, Xiao Su was right next to Jiang Xiaobai. She grabbed at his hand, seeming to think of something suddenly. Then, she whispered at Xiao Su, “Come nearer; I have something to ask you.”
At this moment, he was completely obedient toward her. Thus, he immediately leaned over. “What is it?”
“Who was the person from the supermarket that you sent to the hospital the other day?”
Hearing this question, his body stiffened and he looked over at her slightly incredulously. Why is she asking this question at this time? Don’t tell me she knows that the person from the other day is Yan?
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you say that it was a stranger the other day? Was it not a stranger then? Are you having an affair?” she joked. Then, her expression became pained suddenly. “I’m just asking you a question. Are you not going to answer me?”
When he saw her expression, he felt extremely anxious. He wanted to explain the events from the other day. Truthfully, he had explained it once, but she had fallen asleep at the time. Afterward, he never brought it up again. It was just an insignificant matter. If he kept bringing it up, she would think too much of it. When all was said and done, the relationship between him and Yan was a sensitive matter.
Unfortunately, she was about to go into labor right now. Xiao Su did not want to bring up further issues at this point. Therefore, he hastily replied, “Of course not. I will answer whatever you ask. It was a stranger; she accidentally knocked into me and fell. At first, I wanted to inform you about it, but she was in a hurry to rush to the hospital. I couldn’t bear to stand by and watch, so I sent her to the hospital.” Then, he crouched down, looking her in the eye. “Xiaobai, I’m speaking the truth. That was the exact sequence of events. I really didn’t mean to ditch you or ignore you the other day. Afterward, I even went to the supermarket to look for you.”
“Okay.” Jiang Xiaobai smiled, nodding. “Okay, I get it.”
She didn’t seem to express anything out of the ordinary and looked like she had accepted his answer. Even so, he felt very uneasy for some reason. Holding her hand, he reassured her, “No matter what, you are the most important thing to me. Don’t think too much about it, okay?”
“Okay.”
The unease in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
Up until she was done giving birth, she was afraid of pain. For that reason, she refused to perform a cesarean delivery, choosing instead to go with natural birth. That was because the very idea of opening up a hole in her belly gave her cold sweat. However, the baby was too big and the delivery process of a natural birth did not go smoothly. Therefore, in the middle of the procedure, they switched to a cesarean surgery out of necessity.
After the baby was safely delivered, she remained unconscious. The doctor brought the baby over for him to look at, but he didn’t even give the baby a single glance. From the start, he held onto her hand tightly, watching her nervously. She has given me so much; so, so much.
She was unconscious for quite a long time, during which her consciousness seemed to float about—almost as if she were bobbing in the sea. Even so, she could feel that somebody was holding on to her hand the entire time, and holding on very tightly too. It felt as if the person was afraid she would vanish otherwise.
When she woke up, he was still holding onto her hand tightly. As soon as she opened her eyes, she met his gaze. He seemed delighted and moved to see that she had finally awoken, and his eyes reddened slightly. “You’re finally awake.”
Jiang Xiaobai had mixed feelings in her heart as she looked at the man in front of her. Then, she smiled faintly. “I’m awake. You can’t have stayed by my side the entire time, right?”
Xiao Su did not respond.
She asked another question, “Don’t tell me you stayed in this posture the entire time?”
In the beginning, he wanted to deny it. However, the prickling sensation of pins and needles seemed to stab all the way to his bones when he moved his numb legs. Unable to hold it in, he groaned slightly from the pain. She shot him a look of mild annoyance. “Really, what’s with you? This is the hospital. If anything had happened to me, you won’t even have the chance to stay by my side. So why are you being so nervous?”
He said nothing as he slowly used his hands to support himself and sat on the edge of the bed. Both his legs were completely numb, but he had not been aware of it previously. After she mentioned it, the pain and numbness had hit him in full force.
“Are you okay? You should massage it slightly.”
“I’m okay. It’s no big deal.” Xiao Su felt that the little pain and numbness he was experiencing was nothing compared to the pain she had gone through during labor. Now that she was feeling better, he decided that there were some things he should come clean with her about. “Just now, you were asking about who the person I met at the supermarket was, right?”
Jiang Xiaobai was surprised that he brought up this topic himself. She thought he did not want to talk about it. In response, her breathing hitched slightly before she took the initiative to reply, “Yes, I did. But, you explained it to me, didn’t you? So, let’s not talk about this anymore.” She had no desire to bring up the issue again. She asked about it, but he had not been honest about it. Whether it was due to guilt or something else, it did not matter anymore. She had made up her mind and it wasn’t going to change anymore.
“No, I must talk about it.” He glanced at her in all seriousness as he continued, “This is a serious matter. Previously, I didn’t tell you about it because I was afraid you would overthink it. But now, I think it’s best if I explain it to you again clearly.”
“I—”
Without waiting for her to finish, he straight-forwardly rushed to explain the events of the day. “The person that ran into me the other day was Yan. Han Qing had gotten into a car accident. When she knocked into me, she twisted her ankle. At first, I wanted to go in and look for you, but she looked like she had lost all sense of reasoning. She was in a frenzy to rush outside. I was afraid something would happen to her, so I brought her to the hospital. I swear; there is nothing left between the two of us.”
He looked serious and focused as he spoke. He also seemed afraid that he would anger her with his words. She took in his expression and tone of voice as he spoke. “There was nothing between you and her in the first place, was there?”
She never liked you. It was an unrequited love on your part. Yet, you loved her so bitterly that you got yourself drunk at a hotel over her. In the first place, there was nothing between the two of you. Jiang Xiaobai thought in her heart, Even so, you still chose her over me.
