Chen Qin Gives Birth

In the blink of an eye, only half a month remained before Chen Qin was due to give birth. She had moved into a private hospital room quite early. Since due dates were generally fairly accurate, Chen's parents had arranged for her to stay at the hospital in case anything unexpected happened, so she could give birth at the first opportunity.

For Chen Qin, even staying in the hospital was more comfortable than being at home. After all, she had been forbidden from going out for eight or nine months, and even when she was allowed outside, the farthest she could go was the small garden on the estate. As Chen Qin herself put it, being cooped up for so long was driving her crazy.

“Mom, I know, I know.” Chen Qin was sitting on the bed eating fruit while Chen's mother chattered away on the other end of the video call. “There are three or four nurses looking after me, so don’t worry.”

“You need to be more careful.”

“I know.”

After finally hanging up, Chen Qin saw Ye Shuang walk into the room.

Calling it a hospital room was actually an understatement. It was more like a private hotel suite, complete with a sofa, television, dining table, and even a bathtub in the bathroom.

“Hubby, are you done talking to the doctor?” Chen Qin asked cheerfully when she saw Ye Shuang.

“Yeah. We discussed the delivery options. If you’re worried about the pain, you could have an extraperitoneal C-section,” Ye Shuang said. “I just asked about it. The doctors here are all highly experienced, and your test results show that you’re a suitable candidate.”

“Extraperitoneal? What’s the difference between that and a regular C-section?”

“With a regular C-section, they cut through the layers one by one. The peritoneum is the most painful part, so an extraperitoneal C-section avoids it and removes the baby from the bladder side,” Ye Shuang explained. “The advantage is that you can get out of bed on the first day, recover more quickly, and the incision is smaller, so it can heal sooner.”

“Oh, I see. Is a natural birth not better?” Chen Qin asked.

“A natural birth… might hurt a little,” Ye Shuang said. “Even with an epidural, it’s impossible to eliminate the pain completely.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got wide hips, hehe. I’ll go with a natural birth,” Chen Qin said. “That’s better for the baby, right?”

“It doesn’t really matter to the baby. I just don’t want you to suffer,” Ye Shuang replied with a smile. “I don’t think there’s any difference between children born by either method.”

“Wow, the baby would be sad to hear you say that.”

Just then, Ye Shuang’s phone vibrated. He glanced at it and saw a company contract that had been sent through QQ. He had no choice but to sit down beside the bed, pick up the laptop nearby, and start reviewing it.

Chen Qin sat beside him and looked over as well. She had not dealt with company matters for more than six months, so she was unfamiliar with some of the new projects.

“Hubby, do you need my help?”

“No. Just eat your fruit,” Ye Shuang replied as he read through the document. “Don’t get involved in work matters.”

“Oh~”

Chen Qin seemed to enjoy being looked after by Ye Shuang. She acted like a sweet, obedient little girl sitting beside him, occasionally feeding him pieces of fruit.

“By the way, hubby, what’s going on with Chen Hai?”

“You haven’t been in touch with him?”

“No. He was being so reckless, and it’s been several months since the divorce. There hasn’t been any news from Feng Shan either.” Chen Qin frowned. “I’m a little worried she might take the child and do something foolish.”

“She probably won’t. Feng Shan is an only child, and her family dotes on her,” Ye Shuang said, not particularly concerned. Besides, if anything really had happened, Chen's parents would probably have heard about it by now.

“The divorce must have hit Feng Shan hard, though,” Chen Qin said.

“Since she was the one who brought up the divorce, Feng Shan must have felt insecure.”

“Hubby, you won’t divorce me in the future, will you?” Chen Qin asked.

“Silly.” Seeing the worried look on her face, Ye Shuang couldn’t help smiling. He reached out and pinched her cheek before continuing, “No, I won’t.”

“Hehe.”

Speaking of Chen Hai, Ye Shuang realized that he himself had not been in contact with him for a month either. He had no idea what the man had been up to lately.

It wasn’t that Ye Shuang had deliberately avoided calling him. Life had simply been moving too quickly, and before he knew it, a month had passed without him even noticing.

“Want me to call and check on him?” Ye Shuang asked, holding up his phone.

“Then pretend I’m not here,” Chen Qin said.

“Sure.”

Ye Shuang dialed Chen Hai’s number directly. After a while, someone picked up.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end belonged to a young woman, which made Ye Shuang freeze for a moment.

“Hmm.”

When he saw Chen Qin’s expression darken beside him, Ye Shuang quickly asked, “Who are you? Where’s Chen Hai?”

“Chen? Please wait a moment.”

“Hello—”

A moment later, Chen Hai’s voice came through the phone, accompanied by the sound of splashing water. It seemed he was taking a shower.

“Chen Hai, who’s that girl?” Ye Shuang asked.

“A girl? She’s just a young woman who came over to help me clean,” Chen Hai replied. “She was outside the door and said it was Ye Shuang calling, so I asked her to answer it for me. I’m still in the shower, bro.”

“A cleaning girl…” Ye Shuang obviously didn’t believe him, especially since Chen Qin beside him already looked ready to throttle him.

“Do you think I believe that?”

“Hey, I swear, why would I lie to you? I always say it straight—if it is, then it is; if it isn’t, then it isn’t,” Chen Hai protested. “You don’t think I’m fooling around, do you?”

“If you really wanted to do something, I couldn’t stop you. You’re single, after all,” Ye Shuang said.

“Exactly. Besides, this girl is really meticulous with the housework. She just refuses to wear a maid outfit. She’s not like your Fish-Head Secretary, who’s always playing dress-up in uniforms with you,” Chen Hai said. “Anyway, why did you call me?”

“Nothing special. I just wanted to check on you since it’s been a month. Have you opened the shop yet?”

“I’m thinking of starting with a street stall,” Chen Hai replied. “The economy’s not great right now. I’m worried that if I open a shop, I’ll throw several hundred thousand into it and get absolutely nothing back.”

“Alright, I’m hanging up.”

With that, the call ended.

“Heh. What a carefree life. He’s already started playing around with uniforms,” Chen Qin said with a cold laugh. “I think he’s enjoying himself a little too much.”

“That’s probably not the case. Chen Hai has always been pretty straightforward, so nothing should have happened,” Ye Shuang said. “But as for setting up a street stall…”

For a moment, Ye Shuang didn’t know what to say.

That was hard-earned money, after all. He had no idea what Chen Hai was really trying to accomplish.

“Hmph.”

Chen Qin understood that as well. Since she had not said anything during the call, Chen Hai probably had nothing going on with that particular girl. But who knew what he might have been doing with someone else?

“Heh, it does sound a little like that. Still, I don’t think he’s in the mood for that sort of thing anymore.”