Hard work after winning the lottery

I don't know how much time has passed.

When the air in the corridor seems to solidify into a solid mass, making it hard to breathe.

"Crunch—"

That door that determined destiny finally opened for the fourth time.

Director Liu came out.

She took off her mask, revealing a tired face. Her bangs were soaked with sweat and clung tightly to her skin.

The four members of the Hua family, like puppets whose start button had been pressed, suddenly raised their heads, and all eyes were focused on her face.

Their hearts stopped beating at that moment.

The whole world was silent.

Director Liu looked at their pale, fear-filled faces and took a deep breath.

Then, she gave a smile that was both extremely tired and incredibly determined.

"He's been saved."

She spoke slowly, word by word.

"The bleeding has stopped, and the vital signs are stable."

"The mother is out of danger."

boom--

That string, stretched to its limit, finally snapped.

Hua An was the first to collapse to the ground, bursting into tears like a three-year-old child.

The wall against which Hua Shu was leaning could no longer support his weight. He slid down the wall and sat on the ground, covering his face with his rough hands. Tears that he had suppressed for half his life finally burst forth from between his fingers.

Li Guifen and Grandma Hua hugged each other tightly, crying their hearts out as if they were releasing all the fear and lingering dread of their lives through their tears.

Overjoyed, she wept.

The cries in the corridor transformed from desperate wails into an outpouring of relief after surviving a catastrophe.

The bright red "Operation in Progress" warning light finally went out.

A few hours later, in the intensive care unit.

As the tide of anesthesia slowly receded, consciousness, like a shipwreck submerged on the seabed, was gradually lifted to the surface by buoyancy.

The first sensation to return is pain.

It wasn't a sharp, stinging pain, but a dull, heavy, tearing sensation that felt like it was going to rip her apart. It lingered in her lower abdomen, each breath pulling at the nerves there, arrogantly reminding her of everything she had just experienced.

What followed was a deep-seated weakness.

My body felt like a hollowed-out sack, light yet too heavy to move.

Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and Hua Yun used all her strength to barely manage to open them a crack.

All I could see was a blurry blur of light and shadow.

The smell of disinfectant, mixed with the familiar, faint scent of earth and sunshine from my family members, filled my nostrils.

She blinked, and the blurry light and shadow gradually focused, turning into several familiar faces etched into her very being.

Li Guifen's eyes were swollen like ripe walnuts, and the tear stains at the corners of her eyes had not yet dried, but her face was filled with a kind of wild joy at having something lost and then found.

Her father, Hua Shu, stood at the foot of the bed. This taciturn man had red eyes and dark stubble on his chin. The look in his eyes was one of cautious, almost shattering, tenderness.

And Grandma, and my younger brother Hua'an...

They all surrounded her, as if guarding a priceless treasure that had been lost and found again.

What happened?

She remembered the children's cries, those three clear, heavenly cries.

and then?

What followed was a chaotic, blood-red scene and an increasingly cold, weightless feeling.

A belated fear, like an icy tide, silently washed over her heart.

She opened her mouth, her throat so dry it felt like it was on fire, and the sound she made was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"Where are the children...?"

This was her only obsession after she woke up.

Are her children alright?

Li Guifen, who was standing by the bedside, was startled. She immediately bent down and gently touched her daughter's cold forehead with the back of her hand.

"Hey! Yunyun, you're awake!"

Her voice was thick with nasal tone, and tears of joy welled up once again.

"It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake..."

Hua An also came over. He clenched his fists tightly and tried to force a smile, but tears still streamed down his face.

"Sis, you scared us to death!"

"Where are the children?"

Hua Yun stubbornly asked again, her chapped lips turning slightly white from the effort.

Her eyes searched the room, desperately looking for evidence of the existence of those three little lives.

"Yes! Yes! I'm fine!"

Li Guifen quickly wiped away her tears and turned back to call out towards the door.

"Nurse! Nurse! My daughter is awake and wants to see her!"

Soon, the ward door was gently pushed open.

A young nurse pushed in a specially made baby insulated stroller, a gentle smile on her face.

"The mother is awake? Congratulations! It's three very healthy baby boys."

The nurse carefully pushed the insulated cart to Hua Yun's bedside and adjusted its height to be level with her eyes.

Then, she picked up the three little ones wrapped in soft swaddling clothes one by one and placed them side by side beside Huayun's pillow.

In that instant, the whole world fell silent.

Hua Yun's breathing suddenly stopped.

She turned her head slightly to look at the three small faces close together.

So small, so soft.

Their skin still had the characteristic redness of newborns, and it was all wrinkled, making them look like three little old men.

His eyes were tightly closed, and his long eyelashes cast a faint shadow under his eyelids.

With a tiny nose and a tiny mouth, it would occasionally smack its lips unconsciously or let out a soft hum.

This is... her child.

Three tiny lives separated from her body, connected to her by blood.

She had felt every fetal movement through her belly.

She had imagined what they would look like countless times in her mind.

But when they actually lay peacefully beside her, the shock and the overwhelming emotions almost overwhelmed her.

Tears, without warning, slid down her cheeks.

Silent and still, yet scalding hot.

These are not tears of sorrow.

It's the lingering fear of surviving a life-or-death situation.

It is the overwhelming joy of becoming a mother for the first time.

It is the deepest, most profound emotion, a connection of blood.

With difficulty, she raised her hand, which wasn't receiving an IV drip, and trembled as she reached out to the child closest to her.

My fingertips gently landed on the baby's soft cheek.

The touch was warm and delicate, carrying the most primal temperature of life, like a warm current that instantly flowed from her fingertips to her entire body, soothing the excruciating pain in her body and the panic in her soul.

This is the truth.

She is still alive.

Her children are also living well in this world.

She touched them one by one, gently.

Eldest, second, and third.

Her sons.

She and... Zhou Yanjin's sons.

Thinking of that man, Hua Yun's heart skipped a beat, but soon all her thoughts were occupied by the three little ones in front of her.

"You've just had a massive hemorrhage; your condition is very dangerous, and you need absolute rest now."

Director Liu entered at some point, her voice calm and serious.

"I know you love the children, but you're too weak right now. You absolutely cannot hold them, and you can't let your emotions fluctuate too much, understand?"

Hua Yun nodded slowly, her gaze still fixed greedily on the faces of the three children, unwilling to look away for even a second.

Li Guifen carefully wiped away the tears and cold sweat from her daughter's face with a warm towel.

Hua Shu silently went out, brought back a basin of hot water, and wiped her daughter's hands and feet without saying a word.

The family members have a clear division of labor, working together silently and in perfect harmony.

They took turns staying by the bedside, and when they got sleepy, they would take a nap on the folding chair next to the bed, never leaving the room.