Liang Zhengchun barged through the doors of the hospital, managing to catch Xia Lei right as the younger man was about to enter Liang Siyao’s surgery theatre.
“Lei Zi!” Liang Zhengchun shouted with a tremor to his voice. “How is she?”
Xia Lei comforted him dutifully, “Master, there’s no need to worry. Siyao is inside and well. She’ll be alright.”
“I hope you remember our promise.” Liang Zhengchun stared at him with wide eyes, afraid that Xia Lei would regret and go back on his words.
Xia Lei smiled rea.s.suringly. “Master, please rest a.s.sured. I’ve already discussed this with Siyao, she’ll be the one naming the child. The child’s surname will be ‘Liang’ as promised.”
A smile bloomed across the older man’s features. “That’s great… That’s great… I really don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“Master, we’re a family. There’s no need to thank me. A child taking after his mother’s surname is still a child of mine,” said Xia Lei.
“Lei Zi, are you sure it’s going to be a son?” Liang Zhengchun seemed to be reminded of something.
“Yeah, I have a good feeling that it’ll be a boy. Please excuse me, I’m going in to check on her.” Xia Lei offered no further explanation.
“Go. I’ll be out here waiting,” said Liang Zhengchun. After Xia Lei disappeared into the room, the older man began pacing along the corridor anxiously.
On the surgery bed, Liang Siyao’s forehead was completely covered with beads of sweat. The pain had caused her to groan out loud. Experiencing the same level of pain, Liang Siyao was evidently more tolerant to it than Fan Fan and Jiang Ruyi. Xia Lei’s presence was welcomed by a forced smile from her that motioned for him to come closer to her side.
Xia Lei stood beside the bed and wiped off her sweat with the back of his palm. He cooed, “Everything is going to go by in a flash. Everything will be alright.”
“I wasn’t expecting giving birth to be so painful. Mmph…” Liang Siyao heaved. “That little rascal is kicking me again.”
Xia Lei landed his gaze on her stomach and activated his X-ray vision. A baby boy was immediately presented to him. The baby had already made it to the birth ca.n.a.l but he did not seem pleased just yet, he relentlessly grabbed around and kicked his chubby lower limbs. He’d definitely have what it takes to continue Liang Zhengchun’s legacy and grow into a famous Wing Chun master!
“Siyao, your father is here too.” Xia Lei grabbed her trembling palm. “I promised him that the child will take on your surname and to let you name him.”
“You’re the father, you should be the one naming him,” said Liang Siyao.
“What’s the difference?” Xia Lei chuckled lightly.
Liang Siyao punched his arm weakly. “Look, that’s your child for crying out loud. If you’re not naming the baby, who else is going to do it?”
Xia Lei went into deep thought. “Since he’s going to take your surname… Liang… Liang Jiayu.”
“Liang Jiayu?” Liang Siyao tested it on her tongue. “Why this name in particular?”
Xia Lei explained, “‘Yu’ means to bring up. Liang Jiayu means a child that is brought up by the Liang family. I decided to name him that in hopes that our son will remember his mission and continue his grandfather’s legacy.”
Liang Siyao’s heart melted at the thought. Her lips trembled slightly but all she could elicit was a pained groan.
“Siyao, I need to go to Long Bing now. I’ll be back soon, okay?” Xia Lei murmured softly.
The woman nodded. “Go, go… Ow… You d.a.m.ned rascal, I swear I’m going to beat you up after you get out… Ow…”
The baby was already busy practising his kicks while still stuck in the womb, Liang Jiayu was indeed in for a good a.s.s-whooping.
Ascending another floor, Xia Lei came to the surgery theatre where Long Bing was at. He saw her, teeth gritted with force as she braved through the waves of pain. She was the strongest out of all four of his wives. She was quiet, the only thing indicating her suffering was her scrunched up features.
Xia Lei walked over carefully and squeezed her palm tightly. He said nothing because he knew she did not need words. Long Bing was alone. Liang Siyao had her father, Fan Fan had her grandfather and Jiang Ruyi’s parents were still alive and well. Xia Lei was the only relative Long Bing had in this world. He was her everything.
“Hubby, I’m alright. Just seeing you is enough to make me happy. You should go to them instead,” said Long Bing, beads of perspiration sliding off the top of her head.
How could Xia Lei bear to leave her in this state? With a tender voice, he muttered, “Let me stay with you for a little longer. How about we think of a name for our son?”
He had named Liang Siyao’s child, all that was left was to figure one out for the rest of his children. It was his task as their father.
“I… Ah!” Long Bing hissed in pain.
Xia Lei quickly attempted to s.h.i.+ft her focus elsewhere. “Ah Bing, our child… Uh, we should name him Xia Long.”
“Xia Long?” Long Bing tilted her head and repeated it twice. She broke into a pretty smile. “Yeah, I like that name. But wouldn’t this make it obvious that he’s our son?”
Xia Lei flashed her a comforting smile. “I want to let the world know that he is our son. Xia Long. Our son will thrive like a roaring dragon high above the clouds when he grows up.”
“Hehe…” Long Bing couldn’t help but giggle at the mental image. “We don’t even know what he’d look like and you’re already this proud about him. You’re quite shameless, aren’t you?”
Xia Lei bent over to kiss her the area between her brows. He activated his X-ray vision and observed her swollen stomach. It made no sense to not check on Long Bing’s baby after doing the same for his other children.
In her stomach, a fat baby was already nearing the exit. His limbs wiggled around stubbornly, eager to break out of his warm coc.o.o.n. The size of his head was seemingly larger than Liang Siyao’s baby and he was built more stockily as well.
The sight filled Xia Lei with delight. “Ah Bing, our son is such a good child.”
Long Bing rolled her eyes at him. “Jeez, you haven’t even seen his face yet and you’re already praising him. You’re so going to spoil him rotten and I’m not about to allow it. If he misbehaves, don’t you dare stop me when I discipline him.”
Xia Lei grinned from ear to ear. “You speak as if you wouldn’t spoil him. Nevermind, time will tell. You’ll definitely be the one smothering him with love.”
The couple went back and forth, not allowing the obstetrician and nurses a chance to speak up. But one minute later, Long Bing screamed out in agony. “c.r.a.p! He… He’s coming out!” She twisted Xia Lei’s arm and dug her nails deep into his skin.
Xia Lei was completely distracted from the pain by the events transpiring inside Long Bing. Xia Long, his son, had managed to squeeze both of his palms out of the birth ca.n.a.l. His palms were clasped together tightly, placing himself in a streamline position. His posture was like that of a swimmer about to plunge into the pool!
“What…” Xia Lei gaped stupidly at her stomach. “Is he… already aware of what’s going on around him? He knows that he’s about to arrive in this world so he positioned himself like this? How is this possible?”
Indeed, the mind of an unborn baby should’ve been a hazy blank that held no knowledge. Any responses elicited would be attributed to natural instincts. But whatever Xia Long was pulling right now was an action that could only be achieved by toddlers!
“It must be my genes!” Xia Lei’s mind clicked. “It must be my advanced genes! Though he is only an unborn baby, he possesses genes that transcend current human evolution. He’s already evolving in his mother’s womb!”
If that was the case for Long Bing’s child, then it would be the same for the rest of his children! With these four children under the Xia family and with the Thunder Horse Organization as an a.s.set, they’re bound to thrive and acc.u.mulate wealth!
“The baby’s out! The baby’s out!” The obstetrician exclaimed excitedly. “Madam Long, give me a little push to help him out! “
“Mmph!” Long Bing inhaled deeply and exerted force.
The loud cries of a baby rang throughout the sterile room.
The first cry was the most melodious noise given by the universe’s creator to mankind. It signalled the start of a new life.
“Congratulations, it’s a son. He’s pretty big.” The doctor chuckled lightheartedly.
“I wanna see his face. Let me hold him.” Xia Lei was impatient and emotional.
However, the doctor quickly stopped him. “No. Your hands are full of germs. We need to bathe the baby and wrap him in a blanket. After that, you may hug him.”
“I see. Then hurry up!” urged Xia Lei.
At this moment, the doors to the surgery theatre were pushed open. Three nurses appeared in his vision.
“Mister Xia, Madam Liang has birthed you a son. You should visit her soon.”
“Mister Xia, Madam Jiang has birthed you a daughter. Please visit her in her ward soon.”
“Mister Xia, congratulations. Chief Fan has birthed you a healthy daughter. You should go take a look.”
His children must’ve formed a pact to share their birthdays!
Xia Lei’s vision went dark and he slumped onto Long Bing’s panting body.
Long Bing hugged his head and giggled. “You should be overjoyed, hubby. But I think your rascals really were thinking of giving you a hard time.”
Even Long Bing found the whole situation weird.
Ten minutes later, his four women were rolled into a luxurious VIP ward. Four babies were presented to Xia Lei. Two daughters and two sons. Xia Lei had already named his sons and it was time for him to name his daughters.
Xia Lei hugged Jiang Ruyi’s daughter and kissed her dainty cheek. “Little princess, what do you think of the name Xia Jianghe? You’re a little lotus that blossomed in the summer. Do you like that?”
Jiang Ruyi smiled at the affectionate display. “I like that.” What she truly fancied was Xia Lei’s latter sentence. Her daughter was a beautiful flower that stemmed from Xia Lei’s seed and germinated within her womb.
Xia Lei returned Xia Jianghe to her mother’s embrace and then went over to pick up Fan Fan’s daughter. The little girl was as beautiful as Xia Jianghe, her chubby cheeks were pink and her eyes were round. She was extremely calm as she blinked her large watery eyes at her father, almost as if she was trying to imprint her father’s face in her mind.
An idea manifested in Xia Lei’s mind. He beamed and announced, “Papa’s precious little girl. You shall be Xia Fan!”
“Hehehe…” Xia Lei and Xia Fan giggled away, laughter light and crisp like bell chimes.
Fan Fan pouted. “Jeez, hubby. Shouldn’t you take this seriously? You named Ah Bing’s son Xia Long and you named our daughter Xia Fan. If my surname was ‘Mian’, are you going to name her Xia Mian?”
[Note: Thanks to the wonders of Chinese, ‘xia mian (夏(下)面)’ can mean a lot of things, from cooking noodles to crotch.]
Xia Lei guffawed at her words. “Oh, come on. Xia Fan, as in the descendant of a fairy. Our daughter is a fairy that descended from heaven.”
[Note: 夏(下)凡 - 下 means to descend; 凡 means mortal here. When used together, it means to descend to the mortal realm. It is commonly used on fairies.]
That took Fan Fan by surprise. She burst out in a peal of giggles. “It’s lovely.”
Xia Lei eyed Fan Fan’s filled b.r.e.a.s.t.s hungrily and thought to himself, “Did all of your intelligence go to your b.o.o.bs?”
Abruptly, Xia Fan clapped her palm against Xia Lei’s eye.
This was something many babies were capable of but Xia Fan was just a baby born literally less than an hour ago. This was too odd to not think about it!
He stared at Fan Fan’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s again and mused in his heart, “Tonight I’m going to eat both of them.”
Xia Fan slapped her other meaty palm onto Xia Lei’s other eye.
Xia Lei was at a complete loss for words.