After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The surgery is scheduled for 9 a.m.

Ye Cheng arrived in Beicheng at 11 PM the previous night. Xiao Wang picked him up at the station. When he entered, Ye Cheng's trousers were covered in dust, and his hair was blown about by the wind on the train. He washed his face and was about to rush to the hospital when Gu Zheng stopped him.

"It's past midnight, your sister-in-law is already asleep. You won't be able to get into the ward even if you go. Let's talk about it tomorrow morning."

Ye Cheng sat on a chair in the living room, legs apart, hands on his knees, back hunched.

"Is the surgery... dangerous?"

"Director Zhang has been doing this for over twenty years." Gu Zheng handed him a cup of hot water. "Your sister-in-law's blood pressure is well controlled, and she has no problems with blood clotting."

Ye Cheng held the cup but didn't drink it.

"Where is Zhenzhen?"

"She's asleep. She's pregnant herself, and I don't let her stay up late."

Ye Cheng took a big gulp of water, which scalded his mouth.

"My parents wanted to come. I stopped them; it's too far."

"After the baby is born, have Xiao Wang drive to pick him up." Gu Zheng patted his shoulder. "Go to sleep first. If you go into the delivery room with dark circles under your eyes tomorrow, your sister-in-law will be more nervous than you are."

Ye Cheng lay down on the folding bed in the guest room and tossed and turned for most of the night.

I don't know when I fell asleep.

-

By 7:30 a.m., the ward was already bustling with activity.

Zhao Xiuxiu changed into her surgical gown and tucked her hair into her cap. An IV needle was inserted into the back of her hand, and clear liquid flowed through the IV line.

Ye Cheng stood by the bed, unsure of what to do with his hands.

"Don't be nervous, it won't hurt," Zhao Xiuxiu patted him. "You won't feel anything after the anesthesia."

"I know," Ye Cheng said, his voice tight.

Zhao Xiuxiu tugged at his sleeve.

"When the baby comes out, take a look and tell me if it's a boy or a girl."

"Men and women are the same."

"Then you have to look at it first."

Zhang Huilan pushed the door open and came in.

"Ready, take him to the operating room."

The nurses lowered the bed rails, and two people pushed the bed toward the operating room.

Ye Cheng followed behind. When they reached the operating room door, they were blocked.

"The family members are waiting outside."

He stopped and watched as Zhao Xiuxiu was pushed through the double doors.

As the door closed, Zhao Xiuxiu gave him a thumbs-up.

When Ye Zhen arrived, Ye Cheng had already walked back and forth in the corridor more than a dozen times.

"Brother, sit down."

"I can't sit still."

"Even if you walk a ditch here, it won't help." Ye Zhen sat down on the bench. "Sit."

Ye Cheng finally sat down next to her.

The indicator light in the operating room was lit in red.

Time passed minute by minute.

9:38.

The operating room door was pushed open from the inside.

A nurse came out carrying a small object wrapped in a blue blanket.

"Zhao Xiuxiu's family?"

Ye Cheng stood up like a spring.

"Boy, 7 pounds 6 ounces. Mother and child are safe."

The nurse handed the child to him.

Her little face was wrinkled, her eyes were closed, her mouth was pursed into a slit, and her hair was wet and stuck to her scalp, and it was dark in color.

Ye Cheng reached out, and as soon as he touched the edge of the blanket, his hands began to tremble violently.

He dared not accept it.

"Come on, answer it," the nurse urged him.

Ye Zhen stood up and positioned Ye Cheng's arms in an arc.

"Support your head, wrap your arms around your back. Yes, just like that."

Ye Cheng held the child stiffly in his arms, as if he were holding the most fragile thing in the world.

The little creature stirred inside the blanket, opened its mouth, and let out a soft whimper.

Ye Cheng's tears streamed down his face.

He didn't wipe it away, but just tilted his head back and let the tears stream down his cheeks, afraid that they would drip onto the child's face when he looked down.

"Zhenzhen...look..."

"I saw it."

Ye Zhen looked down at the wrinkled little face.

Seven pounds and six ounces. Two days shy of thirty-seven weeks, this weight is already very good. It's common for babies with preeclampsia to be small, but after Zhao Xiuxiu was hospitalized, her nutrition improved, and her placental function did not decline further.

Full-term and weighs the correct weight. The cry is strong.

Ye Zhen reached out and touched the child's fingers.

Five fingers, as thin as bean sprouts, with pinkish nail tips.

This hand grasped her index finger.

That's quite powerful.

Ye Zhen couldn't help but smile slightly.

When Zhao Xiuxiu was wheeled back to her ward from the operating room, the anesthesia had not completely worn off.

She was a little confused, but her first question was about the child.

"It's a boy. Seven pounds and six ounces." Ye Cheng placed the baby beside her pillow. "Look, he looks just like you."

Zhao Xiuxiu turned her head and touched the child's face with her finger.

She smiled, but her eyelids felt so heavy she couldn't open them, so she closed them again.

Zhang Huilan explained the post-operative care to Ye Zhen at the door.

"There was minimal bleeding during the procedure, and the uterus contracted well. Blood pressure was slightly low under anesthesia, but returned to 128/82 after recovery, so there are no problems."

"Continue to monitor blood pressure after surgery. Labetalol will still be needed and cannot be stopped immediately."

"The window period for postpartum eclampsia is 48 hours, and I have arranged for someone to monitor it."

Ye Zhen nodded.

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Zhang."

"What's so hard about it? Picking up kids is my job. But you—" Zhang Huilan looked her up and down. "Don't forget to come for your check-up on time."

"I'll come next week."

"I mean what I say." Zhang Huilan pointed at her. "You can boss others around on the operating table, but when it comes to prenatal checkups, you'll be under my control."

Ye Zhen remained noncommittal and turned back to her ward.

Gu Zheng arrived at some unknown time and was standing by the ward window looking at the child. Ye Cheng lifted the child up for him to see.

"Brother-in-law, look! A big, chubby baby boy!"

Gu Zheng looked down at it twice.

"Yeah, chubby, and his nose looks like his older brother's."

"How does he resemble me? I think he resembles his mother."

"Like you."

Ye Cheng was so happy he couldn't stop smiling.

Gu Zheng took a red envelope out of his pocket and stuffed it into the blanket.

"A gift for my nephew."

Ye Cheng quickly pushed it away.

"This—no, that's too much..."

"Keep it." Gu Zheng pressed his hand back. "I'll have Xiao Wang pick up Mom and Dad later."

Ye Cheng responded and then hugged the child, grinning foolishly.

He walked around the corridor three times, telling everyone he met, "Seven pounds and six ounces." He stopped the orderly serving meals, the nurses changing shifts, and the passing family members of patients to share the good news.

Ye Zhen leaned against the door frame of the ward, watching her brother wander around in the corridor.

Gu Zheng walked over and stood next to her.

"If your brother had a gong right now, he could keep banging it until tomorrow morning."

Ye Zhen didn't speak, but her hand unconsciously went to her lower abdomen.

Gu Zheng took this action into account.

Gu Zheng didn't ask any further questions, but simply placed his hand over the hand that was resting on her lower abdomen.

My palms are warm.

The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Ye arrived.

Xiao Wang drove steadily and slowly the whole way—Gu Zheng's original words were: "If there's a bump, I'll deduct half a month's allowance."

The first thing Ye's mother did upon entering the ward was not to look at her grandson, but to touch Zhao Xiuxiu's forehead.

"Should we keep burning it? Does the incision hurt?"

"Mom, the fever has stopped, and the incision is much better."

Only then did Ye's mother turn to look at the child.

The little one is sleeping, its mouth puffing out, I wonder what sweet dreams it's having.

Ye's mother reached out and picked up the child, her movements ten times more skillful than Ye Cheng's.

"Oh dear, this big, chubby boy."

"She's really good-looking."

Ye's father stood behind, craning his neck to look for a long time, before finally managing to utter a sentence:

"Seven pounds and six ounces, heavier than his father was at birth."

Ye Cheng chuckled beside him.

"Dad, do you remember how much I weighed at birth?"

"Six pounds and two ounces. You were skinny as a child, like a monkey."

Zhao Xiuxiu laughed so hard she pulled at the knife, and she grinned.

Ye's mother quickly pressed her back onto the pillow.

"Stop laughing, stop laughing. A reopened wound is no joke."

She turned to look for Ye Zhen.

"Zhenzhen, the child doesn't have a name yet. You're well-read, so help us come up with one."

Ye Zhen waved her hand.

"This is my brother and sister-in-law's child; they should be able to name him themselves."

Ye Cheng scratched his head.

"I've discussed it with Xiuxiu, and we'd like to call him Ye An."

"Peace and safety."

Zhao Xiuxiu added a sentence.

"Zhenzhen told us to come to Beicheng to give birth safely. If the child can be born safely, we will name him/her this."

Ye's mother read it twice.

"Ye An. Good, a good name."

Ye's father nodded vigorously beside him, his lips pursed, his Adam's apple bobbing twice, but he didn't say a word.

He pulled a cloth bag from his pocket, opened it—inside was a silver locket, old and blackened.

"This was left to you by your grandmother; she gave it to you to wear back then." Father Ye handed the silver lock to Ye Cheng. "Now put it on Xiao An."

Ye Cheng took it, his eyes reddening again.

He carefully hung the silver lock on the child's swaddle.

Ye An yawned in his sleep, his two little fists sticking out of the blanket and waving them haphazardly.

Everyone in the room laughed.

Ye Zhen stood near the door, looking at the smiling faces in the room—her brother was squatting by the bed, grinning foolishly; her sister-in-law was leaning against the pillow, laughing cautiously for fear of hurting her wound; Ye's mother was holding the child tightly, reluctant to let go; and Ye's father stood by the window with his hands behind his back, pretending to be reserved with a smirk on his lips, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were deeper than anyone else's.

Gu Zheng appeared behind her without her noticing.

Gu Zheng raised his hand and tucked a stray hair that had fallen from her temple behind her ear.

His voice was very low as his fingers slid down his earlobe.

"When ours comes out, the old man will be overjoyed."