585. Wen Shuqin
“Wen Shuqin, what do you think of this name?”
Ning Chu’s face was still a bit pale, her rosy lips devoid of color. She wasn’t as radiant as usual, but looked more like a fragile vase or an adorable little kitten just brought home.
Wearing a soft, open-front cotton robe, she gazed at the baby girl beside her with watery eyes, softly whispering, “When you grow up, you have to be a pretty little lady~ okay?”
The daughter had just been fed and was now in a sleepy daze, completely unresponsive.
“I’m so done with Xinya and Black Bean. A dog and a cat, arguing all day long—it’s driving me nuts.”
Wen Yang was sitting by the bedside, smiling as he held his wife’s hand. “But their names sound pretty calm; they aren’t really doing any harm.”
Black Bean responded with indignation, “How am I annoying!?”
“Let’s call it a wish, shall we?” Ning Chu looked up and asked, “Is she a succubus?”
Wen Yang managed a bittersweet nod.
“Honestly, a boy would have been better…”
Having just given birth, Ning Chu felt an overwhelming possessiveness over her daughter. The thought of her little girl being whisked away by some man and bullied made her heart ache.
“Why do you look like you aren’t that excited to be a dad?”
Ning Chu suddenly noticed that Wen Yang’s gaze hardly drifted towards their daughter; he kept staring at her face instead, making her cheeks flush.
“I’m not even that pretty right now. Why are you staring at me…”
“You’re beautiful… You’re doing great.”
Wen Yang patted her head gently.
Ning Chu froze for a moment, his comforting words triggering a wave of strong emotions. Her nose crinkled, and tears began to flow uncontrollably.
Struggling to hold back tears, she buried her face in Wen Yang’s shoulder. “It really hurts! When the doctor was stitching me up, it hurt so much that I felt numb…”
Wen Yang’s heart ached to hear that. He pulled Ning Chu’s upper body into his arms, listening to her complaints and woes while soothingly patting her frail back.
“It’s okay; it’s all over now.”
“I’m never having kids again! No matter what!”
“No more, no more.”
“My stomach still hurts!”
The more he comforted her, the harder she cried, from soft sniffles to loud sobs, turning her throat dry and hoarse, blubbering and leaving a mess of tears and snot on Wen Yang.
Black Bean stood awkwardly by the bedside, witnessing her sister’s unrestrained tears for the first time. Stuck between sympathy and embarrassment, she could only wait as their mother held her hand and led her out of the hospital room.
After about ten minutes of crying, the daughter suddenly woke up.
With a loud “Wah!” Ning Chu quickly wriggled out of Wen Yang’s arms, clumsily picking up the baby. Her tears hadn’t even dried yet, but she swayed her body gently, trying to soothe her daughter in a raspy voice, “No crying, no crying~ We don’t want to wake you up~”
“Do you want me to help? You should rest properly.”
“Do you know how to hold a baby?”
“I learned a little when Mom was teaching just now.”
“Please be careful…”
Ning Chu gingerly placed the daughter into Wen Yang’s arms, reassured when she saw that he was managing well. “I’ll just go grab a sanitary napkin…”
“Sanitary napkin?”
Seeing her trying to get up, Wen Yang scrambled to help but was stuck holding the baby and was torn between helping her or not. “I’ll call Mom over; don’t get up by yourself.”
“Okay.” Ning Chu was reluctant, as her torn wound still hurt badly.
She had thought that after giving birth, she could take a breather, but it strangely felt like it was that time of the month again, needing a sanitary napkin now and then to avoid ruining her pants.
Her mother and Black Bean entered the room, supporting Ning Chu’s arms and guiding her to the bathroom.
“Sis~ what’s it like to give birth?”
Ning Chu paused, suddenly recalling Yan Xinya’s description. She had thought it was disgusting back then, but now it felt surprisingly accurate.
“Like taking a big dump?”
“Eww! That’s gross, Sis!”
She grimaced a little and sat on the toilet, shooing her mom and Black Bean away as she closed the door.
By the time Black Bean understands this feeling, she might just be ready to have a child…
After giving birth, Ning Chu found her sense of shame was ground into dust. She thought she wouldn’t be able to handle breastfeeding in front of others, yet her first attempt was under the nurse’s guidance and hurt like crazy.
God knows where such a tiny baby got all that strength, and her belly hurt as well. The pain almost made her instinctively toss her daughter aside!
After wrestling with herself in the bathroom for ten minutes, she returned to the hospital bed supported by her mom and Black Bean. Ning Chu immediately asked anxiously, “Is she asleep?”
“Yep, I think I have a knack for handling babies.”
Wen Yang carefully placed the sleeping daughter back beside Ning Chu and inquired, “When can we go home?”
“If we’re lucky, maybe tomorrow?” Ning Chu turned to her mother.
But her mother shook her head. “You should stay a bit longer, just in case anything unexpected happens.”
“But I don’t want to stay in the hospital… Mom, can you teach Wen Yang how to change diapers? I’ll make a quick call~”
Last time Yan Xinya gave Ning Chu a boastful call after her delivery; this time she certainly wanted to do the same.
“What’s up?”
The call connected quickly, and Yan Xinya was lounging on her bed, lazily watching TV.
“Didn’t you say it’s easy? Where’s the ease in this? I feel like I’m dying from the pain!”
Yan Xinya was clearly taken aback by the sudden onslaught of questions. She stared at the screen, scratching her head in confusion, “It wasn’t that painful for me…”
She tilted her head. “Are you hurting a lot?”
“…”
People’s bodies were just not comparable.
Some women give birth and feel it’s no different from a stomach bug, while others are in unbearable agony, wishing for d*ath.
Ning Chu was obviously in the latter category, having been misled by the former’s fairy tales.
“What’s the baby, boy or girl?!” Yan Xinya perked up, urgently asking.
“A girl.”
“Then that’s a match for an arranged marriage!” She gasped, “Honey! I found a succubus wife for our son! Her mom is super pretty!”
Ning Chu rolled her eyes silently and hung up the call.
“All grown up and still making such a fuss,” Wen Yang chuckled, having listened to the whole conversation. “Are you really trying to set up an arranged marriage with her son?”
Ning Chu shot him a glance. “It was just a joke! If they were childhood friends, that’s fine, but they’re so far apart!”
She wasn’t one of those traditional parents; she had no intention of trying to control her child’s love life.
But her daughter definitely couldn’t grow up to be a qualified succubus!
Ning Chu looked down at the little bundle beside her and couldn’t bear to picture her daughter as a qualifying succubus, enchanting men left and right… that would be terrifying!
Just as she was lost in thought, their daughter began to cry out of nowhere.
Everyone rushed around her in a flurry.
“Why is she suddenly crying again?”
“Is she hungry? Did she wet her diaper?”
After frantically checking, Ning Chu confirmed that her daughter was indeed hungry.
She picked the baby up and glanced at Wen Yang, her mom, and Black Bean in the room. It wasn’t until they slowly left the hospital room that she opened her robe.
“Eat up and grow big~ Ouch, that hurts…”
