Being a parent puts one into a whole new world of perspective. It makes everything else disappear or feel not-so-worthy anymore. Holding a tiny baby in your arms is a life-changing experience. A child couldn"t possibly understand the feeling of a parent when they first look at their own child. It comes with a piercing vulnerability and self-doubt. It"s sublime and terrifying.
It"s terrifying to know that you made that tiny being in your hand and yet you don"t know whether you"ll be able to protect that baby"s innocence in this cruel world. You want to give him wings but still, want to keep him right by your side to protect him.
Parenthood is a joy one can"t put in words but more than that, it"s a responsibility that is terrifyingly exciting.
When the nurse pa.s.sed both their babies wrapped in blankets to Jie and Xu Mey, both husband and wife had yet to accept the fact that they just had twins.
"How?" Jie couldn"t help asking as he looked at the doctor. They asked to conceal the gender, but they never asked about this at all.
"Your daughter"s heartbeat was weak and we couldn"t trace it in the first appointment but when we did, your parents asked us to hide it. They wanted to give you both a beautiful surprise." The doctor"s words made both of them understand the situation.
Jie looked at his little boy and little girl. His face beamed with a sense of pride. He gazed lovingly at the tired Xu Mey and brought the kids close to her.
"Hi, babies! Welcome to this wicked world!" Xu Mey cooed in their ears while touching their faces and tears had brimmed up in her eyes. "They both look adorable."
"They do." Jie agreed with her.
Soon, the mother and kids were s.h.i.+fted to the other room where a long line was formed just to see the newborns. If the hospital didn"t belong to Lin Shen"s family, it was certain that all of them would have been kicked out. Seeing such a huge family was already surprising for the staff.
"Oh my gos.h.!.+ This little girl came as such a surprise."
"She has Jie-Ge"s eyes."
"Oh, our little champ"s eyes are also like his father."
"Aiyo, they are so adorable that I want to eat them. Ow!" Yang Ziyi scowled at Wu w.a.n.g who slapped her head.
"My dear girlfriend, don"t even dare think about eating my precious niece and nephew."
She stuck her tongue at him saying, "I didn"t mean it literally. You idiot!"
"Haha... Stop it guys. Hey, son, have you guys come up with names?" He Susu looked eagerly at her son and daughter-in-law.
Xu Mey held her son and proudly said, "He is Bao. Zhu Bao."
"Bao as in?"
"Bao as in precious. Because he is my little precious one."
"What about our little princess?"
Xu Mey looked at Jie who smiled and looked at his small daughter who weighed like nothing in his hands. Especially since she was weaker than her brother. "She is our Zhu Juan. Juan for beautiful and graceful. The beauty of our life." His indulgent expression could make anyone feel the love he was feeling within.
"I love the names. Now, give me my grandson and granddaughter." Both Fan Bingbing and He Susu took the role of grandmothers who were eager to hold the newborns.
The hospital rooms that are a.s.sociated with melancholy and coldness, today that room was filled with laughter and life. One could feel the love in the air. Every adult was acting like a kid who was eager to get hold of two living dolls.
Jie sat beside Xu Mey on her bed, letting her lean her head on his shoulder as he held her hand in his own. Both kept their eyes on the beautiful scene playing before them. Even as parents they weren"t acting as excitingly as the rest of people were.
One thing was sure; these two were born between a love that was unexplainable. They had so many people at their beck and call right after opening their eyes.
If a single child brings a million smiles, their twins brought a billion smiles along with them.
"Ah-Jie, don"t they all look like kids right now fighting for their new toy?"
"Let"s hope they don"t really get into a brawl over these new "toys"." Jie laughed along.
"Ah-Jie, we"ll be good parents, right?" Xu Mey looked at him hopefully.
Jie gave her a smile of rea.s.surance and said, "I don"t know. I do know that there will be hard moments, frustrating ones and even one of those challenging ones. But amid all of that, we"ll be able to grow along with our kids and learn to feel the joy and satisfaction of even those frustrating moments. So, let"s not be good parents. Let"s do our best instead."
"Where are we going from here?" She asked after a brief pause.
"Will you hold my hand?" He asked.
"For the rest of my life." She answered.
"Then the rest is just history..." He smiled back at her with love and contentment. In that one gaze was Xu Mey"s whole world. He was right. As long as they were together. The rest won"t matter because eventually, everything else will just become history.