Time flew by, and before they knew it, spring had arrived. On one peaceful night within the Shen Mansion, Lu Xinyi was suddenly awoken by sharp stinging pain from her abdomen. She instinctively shook her husband’s shoulder, the man sleeping soundly on her side.
Shen Yi immediately sat up and looked over her, “Xinxin, what’s wrong?”
His sleepiness was forgotten once Lu Xinyi cried in pain as she held her belly.
“Yi, my water just broke,” she panted out.
He immediately turned on the lights on his bedside table, only to see her ashen face and the sheets below her drenched. Her water had broken!
Although he and Lu Xinyi had taken birthing cla.s.ses as per Zhao Xi’s recommendation, Shen Yi couldn’t help but panic. He pushed the blanket away from him and tripped on his own foot as he ran towards their walk-in closet to get the bag Lu Xinyi had prepared for this day.
He then dialed Zhao Xi’s number on his phone to inform her that Lu Xinyi had started to go into labor. Without bothering to get change, Shen Yi hung the bag over his shoulder and carried his wife downstairs, yelling for help.
The Fu Siblings immediately appeared from nowhere. They were able to hear Shen Yi’s call because they were the one stationed outside the garden which was close to the stairway.
“Get the car ready! Xinxin is about to give birth!” Shen Yi threw the bag towards Fu Rui and hurriedly rushed outside.
Lu Xinyi was in so much pain that tears started to roll down her cheeks.
“Yi! It hurts! It hurts!” She cried in agony, but Shen Yi only felt useless because he couldn’t relieve the pain from her. If he could, he would take all the pain from his wife.
The car ride which was supposed to be an hour ride towards the hospital was cut into half as Fu Shuren drove so fast in the middle of the deserted roads of the capital. The three men inside the car were scared witless every time Lu Xinyi screamed at the top of her lungs from pain.
In contrast to the happiness Shen Yi felt when he found out she was pregnant, he was now scared to death seeing her in pain, crying for help as she went into labor.
When they arrived at the hospital, Zhao Xi was already waiting for them outside and rushed Lu Xinyi to the delivery room.
The three were forced to wait outside the delivery room, wincing as they heard Lu Xinyi’s piercing scream from inside. No one could do anything to help her this time.
Fu Shuren thought that the only thing he could do for his miss was to inform both the Shen and Tang families about her current situation. It was Tian Lingyu who arrived first after receiving Fu Shuren’s call. He found Shen Yi walking back and forth outside the delivery room.
“Zhao Xi! What’s happening to Xinxin? Why is she still in pain?!” Shen Yi was clearly in distress outside as he waited. It had been two hours since they arrived, but his wife was still crying from excruciating pain.
“Shen Yi, you better let Doctor Zhao do her job. All of these questions wouldn’t help Xinxin at all,” Tian Lingyu said as he pulled Shen Yi away from the delivery room to calm down.
“But Xinxin…” Shen Yi resisted from his brother-in-law’s hold.
“Will be fine as long as you don’t disturb the doctors and won’t cause troubles,” Tian Lingyu cut him off.
However, Lu Xinyi’s scream broke through Shen Yi’s thought; and he was on his feet and by the door before he thought about it. The sound of her pain disturbed him. He was stopped at the door by a hand which was Tian Lingyu’s.
“Trust me, Shen Yi. You wouldn’t want to be there right now,” he said ruefully.
At that moment, Shen Xue arrived with their father and Matriarch Shen; even Kang Wei arrived after receiving a call from Zhao Xi.
“How long exactly does this last?” Shen Yi gave up and sat on the bench. Kang Wei c.o.c.ked his head to one side thoughtfully at his friend’s question. “Ah, Zhao Xi once told me it depends. Since this is also Sister Xinxin’s first pregnancy, it’s normal to wait for a few hours.”
Shen Yi groaned. It had only been two hours, and yet an eternity could have pa.s.sed since their arrival as he waited outside for news on how his wife was faring.
“Trust me, Shen Yi,” Xiao Lan, who just arrived, joined their conversation, “Listen to your brother-in-law. It’s for your own safety.”
“Are you implying that my own wife poses a threat to me?” Shen Yi found it ridiculous. Lu Xinyi would never dare to harm him in any way. He didn’t understand why they were worried.
Kang Wei and Xiao Lan shared a knowing look before bursting into a fit of laughter together.
“Shen Yi, if you go in there, you would want to comfort her through her pain, right?” Xiao Lan asked in between her laughs.
“Of course, what else would I do?” Shen Yi responded.
“No, unless you want her to break every inch of your bone.” Xiao Lan grinned.
At that moment, Lu Xinyi’s scream reached the hallway outside the delivery room.
“Ahhh! Shen Yi! I really hate you right now! You did this to me! I swear you’re never touching me again!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.
Shen Xue snickered at his brother’s shocked reaction before panic settled in. Another hour had pa.s.sed, Zhang Jingwei and Tang Lingfei arrived together and waited outside with the rest of the family. This was a big event neither of the families wanted to miss.
Zhao Xi then stepped outside the delivery room and called for Shen Yi. “The baby is about to come out. Xinxin said sorry for saying hateful things earlier. Do you want to come and stay with her?”
Shen Yi hesitated for a moment before nodding. He followed Zhao Xi inside and wore appropriate gear.
The delivery room was chaotic as expected. Electrical things beeped and hummed around them while the nurses moved around doing their job. Lu Xinyi gritted her teeth as she tried to do the breathing techniques she learned from the childbirth cla.s.ses she attended. She felt Shen Yi’s presence beside her as he wiped her sweat from her face.
“Y-Yi…” The long hours of labor had started to deplete her energy, and she didn’t know if she could do the pus.h.i.+ng anymore.
“Okay, Mrs. Shen.” The lady doctor came forward between her parted legs. “It’s time to start pus.h.i.+ng.”
Lu Xinyi clenched at the sheets beneath her tightly as she groaned, pus.h.i.+ng her baby out as much as she could. She gasped as she ran out of breath, her chest heaving from the lack of oxygen.
She turned her sweaty face to Shen Yi and cried.
“I can’t do this.” She shook her head, “I want my Mommy!”
Shen Yi was rendered speechless again. How was he supposed to give her what she needed? He couldn’t possibly take Sun Meixiu from the afterlife just to console Lu Xinyi.
“You can do this, Xinxin. Your mother is watching over you right now,” he helplessly told her.
More tears fell down from her eyes. “You think so?”
“Of course, if it consoles you, she’d probably forced and dragged your Dad and Uncle Jin to watch over us.” Shen Yi gave her hand a squeeze.