Chapter 20: Zhou Siyan, Your Child Can’t Be a Child Model
After feeding the baby, Xue Yu vaguely felt that a step was missing. After a moment of thought, she finally remembered, “After feeding, do we need to burp her?”
“Burp?” Zhou Siyan had never even heard the term. “How do you do that?”
Xue Yu didn’t know either. Her knowledge of the word “burp” was limited to some infuriating “burp literature” she had seen online before she transmigrated.
Every time she saw “burp literature” while surfing the internet, she would immediately transform into a righteous keyboard warrior, her keyboard practically sparking.
Now she was filled with regret. Back then, she had time to criticize “burp literature” every day.
Why didn’t she think to search for how to actually burp a baby?
“If she burps, you just pat her back. It should be like that,” Xue Yu said, guessing.
Zhou Siyan held the baby upright, letting her rest on his shoulder, and gently patted her back.
He was tall, with broad, flat shoulders. The baby, lying on him, looked like a little pudding.
With this build, these muscles, this frame, no wonder he could give birth to a ten-jin fatty. Excellent stock.
Sensing Xue Yu’s continuous gaze, Zhou Siyan said, “What are you looking at?”
Xue Yu was a little embarrassed. “I’m looking at the baby.”
Zhou Siyan held the baby with one hand and pulled up his collar with the other. “These are pectoral muscles from working out. They don’t produce milk. Don’t get any funny ideas.”
Xue Yu screamed injustice in her heart. She did admire Zhou Siyan’s large pecs, but she had never thought of having him produce milk for the baby, okay!
She was indeed worried about money for formula, but she really hadn’t had such a perverted thought!
Xue Yu didn’t want to continue this awkward topic and simply responded with silence. She turned around and saw Blueberry kissing Heimei again. She clenched her fist and punched it twice. “I really want to beat you to death!”
Poor Blueberry, inexplicably hit with two light punches, blew bubbles at Xue Yu’s face.
It was as if to say: At least I go find meteorite crystals to feed my child. You can’t even afford formula, and you have the nerve to hit me!
After an hour, the wound on Zhou Siyan’s abdomen had mostly healed.
Dr. Lin came to check and injected another dose of the special healing agent into his wound. She said, “Alright, you can be discharged. The wound is basically fine now.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Xue Yu said, holding the baby and expressing her gratitude.
Dr. Lin also gave them a parenting handbook. “There aren’t many pregnant women in the South Continent, and I’ve never seen a man give birth. There’s basically no parenting information. I found this handbook in the storeroom. You’ll have to make do.”
Zhou Siyan accepted it as if it were a treasure. “Thank you, Dr. Lin.”
Dr. Lin reached out and touched the baby’s face. This was the first baby she had delivered in all her years as a doctor. She gave the baby a red envelope.
“Little one, it’s not easy to come into this world. I wish you a healthy and long life.”
The baby grinned, mimicking Dr. Lin, but still only managed one sound: “Long.”
Xue Yu pursed her lips at the baby. “Baby, say thank you.”
The baby: “Thank.”
Dr. Lin laughed. “Alright, you two pack up and leave. I have another surgery later.”
Just as Xue Yu was about to pack, Zhou Siyan stood up and stopped Dr. Lin. “Dr. Lin, may I have a few minutes of your time? I’d like to ask you something.”
Dr. Lin clipped her pen to her chest pocket. “Of course, go ahead.”
Zhou Siyan hesitated, then glanced at Xue Yu. “Xue Yu, could you step out for a moment? I’d like to ask Dr. Lin something in private.”
Xue Yu, holding the baby, looked worried. “What is it? Is there something I can’t hear?”
Countless TV drama scenes flashed through her mind. Could Zhou Siyan have some incurable disease, making her a single mother?
She hugged the baby tighter and moved closer to him, her gaze firm as she would tell him, “Zhou Siyan, I told you I would be responsible for your child, and I will be. We are one now. Don’t hide anything from me. If you’re sick, we’ll get treatment. We’ll get treatment even if we have to sell everything we own.”
A row of black lines appeared above Zhou Siyan’s head. No wonder Feng Qizhou called Xue Yu a childish ghost whenever he mentioned her. This person really loved to let her imagination run wild.
He lowered his head slightly and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to ask about libido. If you want to listen…”
Xue Yu’s face turned bright red. She quickly cut him off and walked out with the baby. “Then I’ll go. The baby is still young and shouldn’t hear this.”
Xue Yu left the ward.
Only then did Zhou Siyan look at Dr. Lin, his tone calm and normal:
“Dr. Lin, Xue Yu and I had a very good relationship when we were together. But after a year, I suddenly became very averse to being intimate with her, to the point where even kissing her would make me vomit. My desire completely disappeared. Do you know what’s going on?”
Dr. Lin thought for a moment and asked, “You had frequent relations when you were together, right?”
Zhou Siyan: “Yes.”
Dr. Lin: “Did your libido recover later?”
Zhou Siyan: “Yes, in the last six months, after my belly started to grow, my desire gradually returned. And it’s very strong, so strong that I need to inject libido suppressant every day to function normally at work.”
After hearing this, Dr. Lin nodded and patiently analyzed for him:
“I’m not very familiar with the reproductive mechanism of the seahorse spirit body, but based on my medical experience, it should be like this.”
“The embryo is very fragile in its early stages of development, and sexual activity can easily cause a miscarriage.”
“So, it should be that when the fetus was developing inside you, it formed a self-protection mechanism. The hormones it secreted interfered with your body, making you averse to intimacy.”
Dr. Lin paused before continuing, “Once the fetus is fully formed and not easily miscarried, it no longer needs self-protection, so it stops secreting those hormones. You are no longer controlled by the hormones, and your libido returns to its previous level.”
Zhou Siyan was relieved. The problem that had plagued him for two years was finally clear.
He thought for a moment and asked again, “Then, after the fetus is fully formed and my belly is showing, can I have sex?”
Dr. Lin gave a wry smile. This kid’s desire for a second child was really strong. He was already considering matters during a second pregnancy.
She nodded. “Theoretically, yes. But you still need to be careful during pregnancy. Don’t be too vigorous.”
Zhou Siyan: “Understood. Thank you, doctor.”
The consultation ended. Dr. Lin had another surgery to perform and quickly left the ward.
Zhou Siyan also left the ward and saw Xue Yu sitting on a bench at the end of the hallway, holding the baby.
She was probably exhausted. Holding the baby in her arms, her head was nodding off like a pecking chick.
Zhou Siyan stood frozen in place, a heavy sense of pity filling his chest like waterlogged cotton.
He suddenly felt that Xue Yu was very pitiful.
She was so thin, as if malnourished. Her two thin arms were holding a ten-jin baby, and she sat there all alone on the metal bench, so pitiful, so lonely.
Zhou Siyan regretted it. Perhaps he shouldn’t have brought Xue Yu here to have the baby.
If he wanted to keep the child, he could have come to the South Continent by himself, given birth alone, and then told Xue Yu after secretly raising the child.
It wasn’t like Xue Yu had intentionally gotten him pregnant.
She knew nothing and was inexplicably dragged by him to share the responsibility, forced to become a mother, forced to bear the risk of being expelled from the White Tower.
Just as he was in a daze, Xue Yu stood up with the baby and walked towards him.
She walked quickly and came to him. “Are you done with your consultation?”
Zhou Siyan: “Yes.”
Xue Yu placed the baby in his arms, her face beaming, a mischievous smile on her lips. She took out the red envelope Dr. Lin had given them from her pocket, her dark, bright eyes glinting with a hint of cunning.
“Hehe, I opened the baby’s red envelope. Guess how much is inside?”
Before Zhou Siyan could reply, she eagerly revealed the answer. “Ten thousand! And it’s in the White Tower’s New Dollars! A whole ten thousand. I couldn’t earn that much even if I mined for three months. Dr. Lin is so generous, so magnanimous.”
She smiled, revealing a set of clean, white teeth. She pulled out the money to show Zhou Siyan, then stuffed it back into her own pocket.
“I’ll keep this money to buy formula for the baby.”
Meeting Zhou Siyan’s somewhat heavy gaze, Xue Yu reluctantly put the money back into the red envelope and handed it to Zhou Siyan. “Alright, you keep it. You’re more reliable with things, so you should keep it.”
Zhou Siyan held the heavy red envelope, his voice hoarse. “Xue Yu, I’m sorry for putting so much pressure on you.”
Xue Yu’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I’m under a lot of pressure right now.”
She frowned in thought, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered in Zhou Siyan’s ear, “I’ve discovered that being a black-market doctor is really profitable. If I get kicked out of the White Tower, do you think it’s feasible for me to come to the South Continent and secretly work as a black-market nurse?”
Zhou Siyan smiled. His heart felt lighter, and his steps felt lighter too. “I think it’s feasible.”
Xue Yu smiled proudly. “It’s settled then. If I get kicked out of the White Tower, I’ll come here to find a job. If I do well, I can even bring you and the child over.”
Zhou Siyan lowered his head and kissed the baby’s forehead. “Okay.”
The two returned to the ward.
Considering that Zhou Siyan had just had surgery, Xue Yu had him hold the baby and wait while she busied herself with packing.
Zhou Siyan felt a warm wetness on his hand. He looked down and saw that the baby had peed.
The baby had just been born and wasn’t wearing a diaper, only a small medical cotton pad.
He placed the baby on the bed and unwrapped the small blanket. “Xue Yu, she peed. Bring me that blue bag. The baby’s clothes are inside.”
Xue Yu took out a blue plastic bag from the woven bag and emptied its contents. There were three sets of clothes in total, all packed by Zhou Siyan.
She couldn’t understand why he would bring three sets of clothes just to have a baby. It was too much.
Zhou Siyan first took off the baby’s dirty pants.
When choosing new clothes, he couldn’t decide and sought Xue Yu’s opinion. “Do you think the floral set is better, or the purple one?”
Xue Yu replied like a machine, “The floral one.”
Zhou Siyan: “Floral? Won’t it be a bit plain? Let’s go with the purple one.”
Xue Yu: “Then purple.”
Zhou Siyan compared them back and forth. “Purple seems a bit too bright. How about the apricot one?”
Xue Yu had already packed the formula and bottles into the bag. She stood by the door, holding the bag, and let out a long sigh.
“Zhou Siyan, your child can’t be a child model. Just dress her in anything.”
Zhou Siyan didn’t understand her joke and was not pleased with her words. “She’s our child.”
Xue Yu didn’t argue with him. “Right, she’s our child. Our child can’t be a child model. Can you please stop being so indecisive? The ward is charged by the hour. If we delay any longer, we’ll be charged more!”
Zhou Siyan: “We’re not short on that little bit of money.”
Xue Yu almost facepalmed. “That’s money for the baby’s formula. Don’t take it so lightly.”
“Then I’ll hurry.” Zhou Siyan picked up the floral set and clumsily changed the baby.
After a lot of fuss, they finally left the ward.
Xue Yu carried the large and small bags, while Zhou Siyan held the baby.
The baby was in her father’s arms, her two small hands clutching her little seahorse. She was very well-behaved, not making a fuss.
They once again passed through the long, narrow, damp tunnel and finally left the underground hospital, emerging into the sunlight.
The sky was almost dark. The fiery clouds spread across the horizon like silk, shimmering with light, a beauty that was both real and surreal.
The two waited at the intersection without hailing a taxi.
The hotel owner, Zhou Siyan’s childhood friend Guan Xun, had said he would drive over to pick them up.
After waiting for five minutes, a black off-road vehicle arrived.
Guan Xun got out of the car, wearing camouflage cargo pants tucked into high-top leather boots, and only a tight tank top on his upper body.
His chest muscles bulged, and his two muscular arms were covered in tattoos. A pair of sunglasses rested on his high-bridged nose.
It looked like he had just come back from some business; he still had a faint smell of blood on him.
Xue Yu didn’t even dare to look at him directly, afraid he would say, “What are you looking at?”
After two years of being indoctrinated by the extreme sexual conservatives, Zhou Siyan couldn’t bear to look at Guan Xun’s attire. He frowned. “Why did you come dressed like that?”
Guan Xun spread his hands and looked at his own outfit. “What’s wrong with how I’m dressed?”
Zhou Siyan couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. “Let’s go.”
Guan Xun’s brow furrowed. He leaned in to look at the baby in Zhou Siyan’s arms. “You really had it?”
Zhou Siyan nodded.
A mixture of surprise and gravity crossed Guan Xun’s face. “My god, you’re really crazy.”
With that, he looked at the girl next to Zhou Siyan, who seemed a bit naive from the look in her eyes. “Are you the baby’s mother?”
Xue Yu smiled. “Yes.”
Guan Xun asked again, “What’s your relationship?”
Xue Yu: “Me and Zhou Siyan? Oh, we were classmates.”
“You’re Xue Yu?” Guan Xun remembered.
The night before last, when Zhou Siyan and Xue Yu had just arrived, he had been busy, and it was dark, so he hadn’t recognized the girl as Xue Yu.
He had known of Xue Yu back when he was still in the White Tower.
Xue Yu was quite famous at the military academy. Her grades were notoriously bad, and on top of that, she often skipped class.
The students of the White Tower were extremely self-disciplined, each one striving to climb up. Xue Yu, the anomaly, stood out among the hardworking students.
At the military academy, she was like a dazed husky that had accidentally wandered into a pack of wolves.
Guan Xun knew that Zhou Siyan and Xue Yu had dated, but he could never have imagined that Zhou Siyan’s belly had been knocked up by Xue Yu.
The worst good-for-nothing in the school had knocked up the top student. Tsk, tsk, this gossip was too explosive.
Guan Xun gave a thumbs up. “I used to think you were a lost cause, but I didn’t expect you to have such a big move up your sleeve.”
Xue Yu chuckled twice but didn’t reply.
Zhou Siyan, holding the baby, urged, “Let’s go. It’s too hot outside. The baby can’t take it.”
“Alright.”
Guan Xun opened the back door. Zhou Siyan got in first with the baby, and Xue Yu put the large and small bags in the trunk before getting into the back seat next to Zhou Siyan.
Not long after the car started moving, Zhou Siyan asked Xue Yu in a low voice, “What exactly is a child model?”
Xue Yu whispered in his ear, “A child model is a very beautiful child. Only very beautiful and very cute children can be child models.”
Zhou Siyan stared at the baby in his arms for a moment, then asked again, “Can our child really not be a child model? She’s so beautiful and well-behaved.”
Xue Yu sighed deeply. “…I guess she can.”
Back at the hotel, Guan Xun also came upstairs to help Xue Yu with her things.
After entering the room, Zhou Siyan placed the baby in the stroller they had bought at the supermarket yesterday.
Guan Xun circled the baby for a long time, muttering to himself over and over.
“Zhou Siyan, you actually had a baby. Terrifying.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, how did you give birth? C-section? How?”
“You actually had a baby. How did you do it?”
Zhou Siyan never replied.
Guan Xun was very busy and didn’t stay long. Xue Yu went downstairs with him, planning to buy food.
Xue Yu asked, “Boss Guan, is there a market nearby?”
Guan Xun: “Why are you looking for a market?”
Xue Yu: “I want to buy a chicken to make chicken soup for Zhou Siyan to help him recover.”
She felt that no matter what, Zhou Siyan was in his postpartum period and should eat something good.
Guan Xun: “Go down this alley and turn left at the second intersection. You’ll see it.”
Xue Yu: “Thank you.”
Watching Xue Yu’s retreating figure, Guan Xun still couldn’t accept that Xue Yu, this good-for-nothing, had knocked up Zhou Siyan.
Even more unacceptable was that Zhou Siyan had given birth to a child for Xue Yu!
Xue Yu arrived at the market. There were very few vegetables. She found a place selling chicken in a corner.
She paid a little extra to have the owner kill a chicken for her on the spot.
She had wanted to buy some red dates and goji berries, but this godforsaken place didn’t have any. Xue Yu returned with the chicken.
When she got back to the hotel, Zhou Siyan was sitting on the sofa, holding the baby. Blueberry, Heimei, and the little seahorse were all gathered around him and the baby.
When Xue Yu opened the door, they all turned their heads to look at her in unison.
Enveloped by their eager and expectant gazes, Xue Yu suddenly felt immense pressure.
She was no longer the great single lady who only had to feed herself. From now on, she would probably have to tighten her belt and live frugally.
“Zhou Siyan, I bought a chicken. I’ll make you chicken soup,” she said as she walked in, waving the plastic bag in her hand.
Zhou Siyan: “You’re making it yourself?”
Xue Yu: “Yes. It’s just chicken soup, very simple. To help you recover.”
Xue Yu bustled about in the kitchen. The hotel kitchen only had one stainless steel pot, so she had to make do.
After cooking for an hour, she brought the pot of soup directly to the coffee table in the living room.
She ladled a bowl of soup and put a chicken leg in it. “Here, you’ve worked hard. Drink up. You have to eat chicken during the postpartum period.”
Zhou Siyan never understood her strange terms. “Postpartum period?”
Xue Yu squatted by the coffee table, picked up a chicken foot, and put it in her mouth, mumbling, “After giving birth, you have to have a postpartum period. Rest well and let your body recover.”
Zhou Siyan: “Where do you get all these theories?”
Xue Yu laughed it off. “From reading extracurricular books. Why else do you think my grades are so bad? It’s from reading extracurricular books.”
Zhou Siyan put the chicken leg in her bowl. “You need to recover too.”
The two of them finished the entire pot of chicken soup and meat. Xue Yu sat on the sofa, never having felt so happy.
Zhou Siyan stood up to clear the dishes. “You watch the baby. I’ll do the dishes.”
Just as Xue Yu was about to be polite, Zhou Siyan had already taken the pot into the kitchen.
The baby was tossing and turning in the stroller, pouting and crying. She was probably hungry.
Xue Yu shouted towards the kitchen, “Zhou Siyan, the baby seems to be hungry. I’ll comfort her. Can you mix the formula?”
Zhou Siyan’s voice came from the kitchen, “Okay, right away.”
Xue Yu sat on the sofa, holding the baby and rocking her gently, but she couldn’t soothe her.
The baby’s face was red from crying. She grabbed at her clothes and instinctively nuzzled towards her chest.
Xue Yu was in a panic. When the baby cried, she wanted to cry too.
Gritting her teeth, she lifted her shirt, wiped herself with a disinfectant wipe, and pressed the baby’s head to her chest.
A second later, Zhou Siyan in the kitchen heard Xue Yu’s earth-shattering cry of pain, “Ah, it hurts so much! Stop biting!”
He ran out with the bottle and saw Xue Yu biting the hem of her shirt, the baby buried in her chest.
Zhou Siyan rushed over in a few strides, gently pinched the baby’s cheeks to force her to let go, and Xue Yu was finally free.
“You don’t have any milk. Why did you try to feed her? It must have hurt when she bit you,” Zhou Siyan said, taking the baby.
“She kept crying. It was so pitiful. I’m her mother, so I just wanted to comfort her first. I was so afraid she would stop breathing if she kept crying.”
As Xue Yu spoke, she hissed in pain, her face contorted.
She hadn’t expected the baby to have such a strong bite even without teeth.
Zhou Siyan reached over and lifted her shirt to check, rubbing the area. He found that it was swollen. “Don’t move. I’ll blow on it for you.”
As Zhou Siyan blew on her, Xue Yu instantly froze.
A moment of stillness…
Zhou Siyan himself realized that something was off and put her shirt down. “There’s ice in the fridge. You should apply some. I’ll feed the baby.”