Months pa.s.sed and Nian Jiezhen"s due date came.Ren s.h.i.+yuan was waiting outside of the delivery room with his mother.
His hands were sweating and he was standing there feeling restless, especially when he heard Nian Jiezhen"s screaming voice.
"s.h.i.+yuan, calm down." Sun Lingzi said, looking at her son. "Come, sit with me."
He went and sat beside his mother, "Will she be fine?"
She held his hand and chuckled, "Of course she will be. She"s a strong woman you know."
"I know..." But he was still nervous.
He knew that it was normal, most of the pregnant women, and mothers went through all this.
"She"ll be fine." Sun Lingzi said, trying her best to rea.s.sure her son.
Hours pa.s.sed and finally, Nian Jiezhen"s screaming voice faded and was replaced by a loud, sharp cry of a baby.
Not long, a nurse went out and invited Ren s.h.i.+yuan in.
He rushed inside and what he saw was Nian Jiezhen"s tired and haggard look. She was holding their crying baby in her arms.
He carefully approached her and went to stand up beside her bed. He was nervous.
When he saw their child, he couldn"t help but think that it looked like a little alien... Although she"s a cute alien.
Nian Jiezhen looked at him and with a tired smile, she softly said, "She"s so small."
Ren s.h.i.+yuan chuckled a bit because of her words, he reached out and gently touched his wife"s cheek. He leaned down and gently placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Good job...You did a good job, Jiezhen... Thank you."
She chuckled softly, "Do you want to hold her?
"Can I?" He was nervous, he was afraid that he might end up using too much strength in holding the baby but... He wanted to carry his daughter.
Nian Jiezhen carefully gave the baby to him. Tiny toes peek from the cloth that was wrapped around her. Her head, has a few black curls. The baby wobbled beneath his supporting hand.
Ren s.h.i.+yuan couldn"t believe how tiny new humans are, how vulnerable, how awe-inspiring. Their daughter looked so fragile.
He turned his glossy eyes to his wife and in a voice that"s almost broken he softly said, "Our little alien is beautiful."
Through her exhaustion, Nian Jiezhen smiled. At that moment she began to cry the sweetest tears she has ever known, all the pain of moments before melting away.
"Ren Xiaozhi." Nian Jiezhen smiled as she wiped her tears away. "Let"s name her Xiaozhi."
"It"s a pretty name." He chuckled. He looked at their daughter, "Xiaozhi." He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.
...
"My granddaughter is so cute!" Jing Wanru was carrying the baby in her arms.
Nian Jiezhen ended up sighing, "Mom, please be careful on carrying her, and don"t be too loud."
"I have years of experience than you, Jiezhen."
Ren s.h.i.+yuan ended up chuckling, he continued on feeding his wife the food that was brought for her, "The doctor said that you and Xiaozhi can be discharged after three days."
"I can"t wait to go home."
Later that same day, Nian Jiezhen ended up receiving a few guests, one of them was Little Melon and Xia Meilin.
"Congratulations, Zhenzhen." She smiled at her.
"Congratulations, sister Zhenzhen!" Little Melon happily greeted. "Can Mello see baby cousin?"
Nian Jiezhen smiled, "She"s over there." She pointed at the nearby crib.
Little Melon went and peeked, he stared at Ren Xiaozhi"s sleeping face.
"She"s so cute just like my sisters." He whispered happily. "So tiny."
Ren s.h.i.+yuan smiled, he patted Little Melon"s head. "She looks like a beautiful alien, me?"
"Alien?" Little Melon ended up looking at his uncle in confusion. He looked at his cousin, "She looks more like a kitten, uncle."
"Really?" He looked at his daughter and smiled, "She looks more like a little alien tho."
Little Melon pouted, "Kittens are cuter than aliens."
"That"s not true, baby aliens are cuter than kittens you know."
"Aliens are not real, uncle! My cousin is not an alien!"
"I didn"t say that she is. My Xiaozhi only looks like one."
While Ren s.h.i.+yuan was arguing with Little Melon about baby Xiaozhi"s cuteness, Xia Meilin was conversing with Nian Jiezhen.
"So you"re finally a mother. I was really surprised when I heard that you gave birth." Xia Meilin smiled. "Out of wedlock?"
"No, we were already married. A month before yours."
Xia Meilin"s eyes went wide, "Seriously?!"
Nian Jiezhen chuckled, "Yeah, seriously."
"Then you should have told me back then."
"I didn"t want to." She chuckled. "Well, your slap brought sense to me."
"I"m glad that it did." Xia Meilin smiled, "Although, that slap was too much so... I apologize, my temper went ahead of me."
"It"s alright." Nian Jiezhen turned to look at Ren s.h.i.+yuan who was now carrying their daughter. "He"s too much for me you know."
"He is?"
"Yeah... I"m trying to make it up to him but he still ends up doing too much for me." She sighed, "I feel like a man around him."
Xia Meilin ended up chuckling, "You can say that... He just loves you that much."
She smiled at that, "I guess so."
"Do you plan on continuing with your work?" Xia Meilin asked, turning back to her.
"Yeah... Once my daughter"s old enough to walk."
Nian Jiezhen wasn"t planning on becoming a housewife, she still loves her work. Although, she wanted to take care of Ren Xiaozhi first for a few years.
Sun Lingzi already offered that she could help Nian Jiezhen in taking care of her daughter, also Jing Wanru was there.
Though she wasn"t sure if Ren s.h.i.+yuan was going to agree with that but she has already made up her mind.
"Have you talked about this with your husband?"
"Not yet."
Xia Meilin sighed, "You know, now that you are married to him, also now that you have a family, you should try talking with him about your plans."
"I know it"s just... Not now."
"Oh well, as long as you have already decided to tell him, that"s fine."