He couldn’t eat or sleep, but he had to force himself to eat, even if those foods made him feel so uncomfortable he almost vomited. He forced himself to swallow them because if the child was lost, he and Fan Xia would have no chance anymore. The child was his only hope of winning Fan Xia back.

He had even prepared himself for the possibility of only seeing Fan Xia when it was time to give birth.

“Will you leave again?” Rong Xiu looked at her with eyes full of hope.

Fan Xia shook her head, caressing the pitiful tear mole: “I won’t leave again. I’ll never leave again. I’ll stay at home with you and the child.”

Rong Xiu silently shed tears. At this moment, all jealousy, all thoughts of Gu Jin Yi, none of it mattered anymore. He only wanted Fan Xia by his side. That was enough.

Over a month later, Rong Xiu went into labor.

During these few days around the due date, Fan Xia specially took time off to accompany Rong Xiu in the hospital. As it was their first child, both Rong Xiu and Fan Xia were nervous. She arranged for the most authoritative doctor to deliver for Rong Xiu.

Originally, Fan Xia wanted to be present during the delivery, but Rong Xiu absolutely wouldn’t allow it.

“Childbirth is also when a man is at his most helpless and embarrassing moment. There will be all sorts of… messy things. I heard online that there was a man whose wife-master was present during the delivery, and after seeing her husband give birth, she was traumatized, found it disgusting, and never wanted to touch her husband again. They even ended up divorcing.” Rong Xiu said, “Anyway, giving birth is a man’s business, Fan Xia, you shouldn’t be present.”

Fan Xia was peeling an apple for Rong Xiu. Hearing him say this, she put down what she was doing and gently held Rong Xiu’s hand.

Even though his tone was so calm when speaking, his hand was nervously clenched.

She cupped Rong Xiu’s tightly clenched hand in her palm and said, “Giving birth has never been just a man’s business. I know I’m a woman, and no matter how nicely I put it, I can’t share the pain of childbirth with you. But if I can’t even face it together with you, what right do I have to be your wife-master, the mother of our child?”

“Moreover, if someone sees their husband’s entire birthing process and not only doesn’t feel sympathy for their husband but instead feels their own delicate psyche is damaged, such a person doesn’t deserve to be a spouse. Divorce would actually be a good thing in that case.”

Fan Xia said with a smile, continuing to peel the apple in her hand. She cut the apple into small pieces and brought it to Rong Xiu’s mouth. “Eat.”

Rong Xiu held the small piece of apple in his mouth, staring intently at Fan Xia for a long time. Though it was a sweet fruit, it tasted strangely sour and astringent in his mouth. A swelling happiness filled his entire body.

Originally, Rong Xiu was still a bit afraid of giving birth, but after hearing Fan Xia’s words, all the tension in his heart disappeared. She was like an invisible shield, warding off all his insecurities.

Finally, on the day of delivery, Rong Xiu felt waves of acute pain in his lower abdomen and was rushed to the delivery room. In the delivery room, Rong Xiu screamed in heart-wrenching pain. The agony invaded his entire body, his lower body feeling as if it was being torn apart, sweat soaking his entire body.

“Fan Xia, Fan Xia,” Rong Xiu called out her name in pain, his voice hoarse and broken.

“I’m here, I’m with you, push a little harder!” Fan Xia gripped his hand tightly, looking at his pale, colorless face, anxious and heartbroken.

“Rong Xiu, the baby is in the right position. Push a little more!” the doctor said.

Rong Xiu’s face was contorted with severe pain, his whole body feeling as if it had been run over by a car. He had literally gone through hell and back. After struggling for a long time, he finally heard the cry of a baby.

The nurse quickly cleaned the newborn baby and handed it to Fan Xia. Fan Xia looked at the newborn bundle with a soft smile and quickly brought it to Rong Xiu to see. “Look, this is our child. How cute.”

The newborn baby was all red, wrinkled, and hadn’t even opened its eyes yet. It couldn’t really be called cute, but seeing Fan Xia so enamored, Rong Xiu also smiled weakly. A child that Fan Xia liked must be the cutest in the world.

A month later, the wrinkled little bundle had opened its eyes. Fan Xia named the child Fan Jing. The snow-white milk skin took after Rong Xiu, delicate and flawless. The round, clear eyes were adorable, giggling at the slightest tickle. Except for when hungry, when it would symbolically fuss a little, it rarely cried, being extremely well-behaved.

Fan Xia was besotted with this child. As soon as work ended, she would rush home without stopping, bringing freshly baked, piping hot pastries from Rong Xiu’s favorite old-style pastry shop.

As soon as she entered the door, Fan Xia saw Rong Xiu sitting sideways on the edge of the bed, holding the child with his clothes half undone. The room had a milky smell.

Hearing the movement behind him, Rong Xiu hurriedly put on his clothes. Fortunately, little Fan Jing had already eaten its fill, otherwise it would surely have cried, flailing its chubby little hands.

“You’re back.” Rong Xiu buttoned up his clothes, but because he was too hasty, there were some stains on his clothes.

“Are you afraid of exposing yourself in front of me?” Fan Xia said with a smile.

Rong Xiu gave her a half-embarrassed glare. Relationship experts say that what couples fear most is losing freshness. Being too open can make your partner too familiar with you, even sleeping together feels like your left hand touching your right hand. So he wanted to keep this freshness, not letting Fan Xia see even when he was breastfeeding.

“Mm, I brought you some pastries you usually like. You couldn’t eat them during the postpartum period, but now there are no restrictions. Let me hold the child, you eat while they’re still hot.” Fan Xia put the pastry box on the bedside table, took little Fan Jing from Rong Xiu’s arms, and held the baby, playing with it.

Little Fan Jing was full and satisfied, with some milk stains still around his chubby little mouth. Seeming to recognize that his mother had returned, he giggled happily, his little hands like lotus root segments grabbing Fan Xia’s long hair that hung over her chest, curiously swinging it back and forth.

Fan Xia didn’t hurry to pull back her hair, instead following his force and using the ends of her hair to lightly brush his chubby baby face. The slight tickling sensation made little Fan Jing wave his hands and feet in delight.

“Be careful, children don’t know their own strength. Be wary he doesn’t pull out your hair,” Rong Xiu said with slight annoyance, pulling Fan Xia’s long hair out of little Fan Jing’s hands.

Without his toy, little Fan Jing’s little mouth pouted, and he waved his chubby, soft little hands, crying non-stop.

Fan Xia couldn’t bear to see little Fan Jing cry. She quickly held him and comforted him, lifting him high and teasing him with toys, finally making little Fan Jing stop crying.

“Alright, you’ve had a hard day at work. Let the servant play with the child,” Rong Xiu said, feeling sorry that Fan Xia still had to comfort the child after coming home. He didn’t let her stay with little Fan Jing for long before handing the child to the servant.

Little Fan Jing’s eyes were still red, whimpering as the servant carried him away. The bedroom became quiet.

Fan Xia hugged Rong Xiu from behind and said with a smile, “Okay, I won’t keep the child company. How about I keep you company instead?”

Rong Xiu held Fan Xia’s hand, trying to hold back his smile but failing. He wouldn’t admit that he was eager to send little Fan Jing away so they could have more time alone together.

There were many taboos during the postpartum period. Fan Xia was cautious about touching Rong Xiu, worried about his health, while he was busy with postpartum recovery, maintaining his pre-pregnancy figure.

Now that he had finally completed the postpartum period, his heart was already restless with desire. Holding Fan Xia’s hand tightly, he said:

“Fan Xia, let’s give little Fan Jing a little sister.”