That year.
At a certain military district hospital.
Outside the delivery room, a crowd of people waited. No one seemed particularly tense; they were all chatting and laughing.
Everyone was looking forward to the birth of the newest generation.
Old Cao was there, and Ren's mother was too.
This was their first great-grandson, so of course they had to be present.
The old patriarch wasn't there; he was busy.
But the 'Grand Lady' had quietly arrived, with security personnel stationed outside.
As for Chen Yi's family elders, they had all come as well.
...
Cao Decheng, the son of Young Master Cao, was also among the crowd.
He stepped out now and then for a smoke.
This time it wasn't a C-section, so it was taking longer.
Otherwise, the baby would have been out in no time. Why else would so many people be waiting here?
"Kid." Old Old Cao walked out to the hallway and lit a cigarette with Cao Decheng. "Nervous?"
Cao Decheng nodded. "Of course I am, Grandpa. How did you feel when my dad was born?"
Cao Decheng was a bit curious.
Old Old Cao was taken aback, then shook his head. "How could I possibly remember that? It's long forgotten. But I vaguely recall it took a very long time. You know, your father was never an easy one, never did anything decent even as a kid... Your own grandmother never got to enjoy much fortune. If she were still here, she'd probably be able to see her great-grandson being born with her own eyes now."
Old Old Cao sighed with a touch of emotion.
To be honest,
Old Old Cao's marriage to the factory girl was indeed a product of its time.
There was no love at first.
Later, the feelings weren't deep either.
But they were at least respectful to each other.
If she hadn't passed away from illness later, they probably wouldn't have divorced, and naturally, there wouldn't have been so many subsequent events.
At this point,
Old Old Cao spoke again, "Did you call your father? Is he coming or not? Shouldn't he show his face for his first grandson? I think he's gotten outrageously lazy."
Cao Decheng smiled wryly. "I did. He said he's stuck in traffic. He spent three minutes on the phone with me cursing the traffic conditions. Mom went down to the entrance to wait for him."
Old Old Cao shook his head. "It's like looking for toilet paper only when the shit's at the door. What was he doing earlier? He knew traffic would be bad at this hour; why didn't he leave sooner?"
Cao Decheng just smiled and didn't respond.
He knew this was just how things were in the family...
...
Soon,
Cao Cheng appeared.
He hadn't been home for a while.
At this moment, Tang Xin was holding his arm as they walked over together, looking somewhat travel-worn.
Young Master Cao had stubble on his chin.
He looked a bit unkempt.
"Dad." Cao Decheng hurried forward.
Cao Cheng nodded and asked casually, "Has my daughter-in-law come out yet?"
"Not yet. She's been in for almost three hours."
Cao Cheng shook his head. "That's too much suffering. I don't know what you kids were thinking. Why insist on a natural birth? Wouldn't a C-section work? It's not like we lack the means. I'll give the little one some medicine later; it can make up for any innate deficiencies."
Cao Decheng explained, "I talked to Xiao Yi about this. But she said it's her first time being a mother, and she doesn't want any regrets. She wants to do as much as she can for the child. Also, the fetal position looked good, and the doctor said a natural birth shouldn't be a problem."
Young Master Cao could understand his feelings.
They say natural birth is better for the child.
After all, it's their first time being parents; they always want to do their best.
It's understandable.
...
Afterwards,
Cao Cheng's arrival made the scene even more lively.
Young Master Cao still had his ageless face, but the stubble now made him look a bit more mature.
But no matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem much older than Cao Decheng.
Even in terms of skin smoothness, he wasn't far off from a young woman.
The Grand Lady now pulled Cao Cheng aside, chattering on about something.
Cao Cheng treated this mother-in-law like his own mother, so he couldn't very well argue with her. He just kept nodding in agreement. Whatever she said was right.
Even if it was wrong, it was right.
If anyone dared to contradict the Grand Lady, Young Master Cao wouldn't stand for it.
Then he was pulled over by Ren's mother.
Actually,
What they talked about wasn't really about the child, but other matters.
Mainly because Young Master Cao hadn't shown up for a long time, and the two elder mothers really had a few things they needed to nag him about.
...
...
Finally.
10 PM.
The delivery room door opened.
Mother and child were both safe.
Many people had already left, but even so, there were still dozens waiting here.
Everyone fussed over the sleeping, eyes-closed baby for a bit. Then, Chen Yi's mother took the child and left first for the hospital room to wait.
The others gradually dispersed too, leaving only Cao Decheng to wait for his wife to come out.
Tang Xin also stayed to keep him company.
Although Tang Xin was now a grandmother, she had only glanced at her grandson earlier. Her main attention was on Cao Decheng and Chen Yi.
This was her eldest son, after all.
And just by looks, Cao Decheng strongly resembled Tang Xin.
...
After that, things proceeded step by step. Cao Cheng didn't slack off either; following his own inclination, he stayed at the hospital with Tang Xin for a few days.
While it was said to be to accompany their son and daughter-in-law, in reality, it was more about accompanying Tang Xin.
In this life...
With Tang Xin as the matriarch, Young Master Cao truly had much less to worry about.
Even now, Tang Xin looked like a young woman under thirty.
...
One day.
Tang Xin and Cao Cheng were strolling and chatting in the courtyard.
Tang Xin suddenly said, "From now on, you can't have any more children."
"Huh?" Cao Cheng was speechless.
Tang Xin shot him a look. "You have plenty of children already. And now your first grandson is here. If you have more kids later, your sons might be younger than your grandsons. That's just not proper."
"..."
Cao Cheng chuckled.
He didn't really see a problem with it.
After all, the future path lay beyond.
In the stars and the cosmos.
The children wouldn't be staying under his wing forever; they'd all have their own lives and careers.
Even if he had more sons and daughters in the future, they'd likely grow up and go work beyond the stars.
Exploring.
Or even mining asteroids.
They wouldn't stay by his side forever.
So,
While having a son younger than a grandson might happen, it wouldn't necessarily be awkward.
However...
Since Tang Xin had spoken up.
And counting his children, he did have quite a few already. It was probably best to stop for now.
He could wait until they truly started developing things in outer space.
Besides,
Over the last couple of years, no new women had appeared around Cao Cheng.
It wasn't like he'd throw a tantrum over not having more children.
After all, all the previous ones had their own offspring now.
Whether their children were boys or girls, they would all receive a substantial share of the family wealth, which was enough.
So taking a break for a few years was fine.
Cao Cheng agreed to Tang Xin's request.
As for wanting more in the future, he didn't discuss it with Tang Xin.
Because such things shouldn't have rigid rules.
What if he suddenly felt like it later, right?
It would be ridiculous to be bound by some ancestral 'rules and regulations'.
Young Master Cao's current state of mind was no longer constrained by anything.
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
