T/n: From now on, “Murray” will be translated as Mo Li – 默里 (Mò Lǐ).
Chapter 19: Zhou Siyan Gives Birth! Xue Yu Becomes a Mom
Xue Yu temporarily set aside the matter of thinking of a proper name.
First, she had to pack up and take Zhou Siyan to the hospital.
She was actually still very nervous, but as the family member, she couldn’t show her panic, lest it affect Zhou Siyan’s mood.
Since coming to this world, she had accomplished nothing, always a step behind others in everything she did, always the most “unreliable” person in everyone’s eyes.
This time, Xue Yu was determined not to mess up.
She had to take responsibility, had to become reliable.
She kept giving herself psychological suggestions: I’m a mother now, I can’t be as complacent as before.
She and Zhou Siyan packed their things, putting the formula, bottles, baby clothes, socks, small blankets, and so on into the bag one by one.
After packing, Xue Yu squatted on the floor and counted everything again and again to make sure nothing was left behind.
They had fifteen minutes before they had to leave.
Zhou Siyan had long since retracted Heimei into the spiritual landscape in his mind.
But Blueberry was still perched on Xue Yu’s shoulder, its pair of deep blue eyes darting around, as if watching Xue Yu’s every move with amusement.
“You’re a mother too. How come you look even less composed than me?” Xue Yu tapped the seahorse’s crown with her finger. “Hurry up and get into the landscape. Stop being a spectator.”
Blueberry bumped Xue Yu’s ear with its mouth, signaling her to take good care of the little seahorse.
Then, its entire body pressed tightly against the exposed skin on the back of Xue Yu’s neck, quickly liquefying into a sticky mass of cells and seeping into Xue Yu’s skin.
Xue Yu put the little seahorse in her pocket, picked up the large blue and white woven bag, and looked at Zhou Siyan. “Is there anything left?”
Zhou Siyan scanned the room. “Nothing else. Let’s go.”
On the way to the hospital, Zhou Siyan remained silent, his face calm, his thoughts unknown.
Xue Yu didn’t want to disturb him. Sitting in the car, she turned her head to look at the street scenes whizzing by outside the window, her heart equally heavy.
They arrived at the hospital and found Dr. Lin without any trouble.
Xue Yu first went to pay the deposit, then returned to accompany Zhou Siyan to the waiting room.
Since she was going to be present for the birth, she also had to change into a green sterile gown.
When she came out after changing, Xue Yu felt a tangible gaze on her for the first time in a long while. The gaze was hidden in the shadows, following her like a shadow.
Xue Yu whipped her head around and vaguely saw a thin, tall figure.
When she rubbed her eyes and looked again, the figure was gone.
Could it be Mo Li… The thought suddenly popped into Xue Yu’s mind.
She didn’t have time to dwell on it. Dr. Lin was already urging her to enter the operating room.
Xue Yu clenched her fists to stay calm.
She was calm when she entered the operating room; she was calm when she saw Zhou Siyan lying on the operating table; she was calm even when she saw the cold, gleaming scalpel.
She tried her best to act like a mature adult.
She stood at the head of the operating table, leaned down, and comforted Zhou Siyan in a low voice. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you and the child the whole time. I’m very brave now. I’ll protect you.”
Zhou Siyan didn’t quite believe her, but he still nodded. “Just look at my face later. Don’t look down. It’s bloody, nothing good to see.”
Dr. Lin still didn’t recommend that they have children. While putting on her gloves, she said, “In this high-pressure environment, raising a child requires extraordinary courage and guts. Are you two really ready to be parents?”
Xue Yu took a deep breath to steel herself. “Doctor, we’re ready.”
Dr. Lin was helpless and stopped trying to dissuade them. “Alright, have it your way.”
“Um, Dr. Lin, are you doing this surgery all by yourself?”
Xue Yu looked around. In the entire operating room, there was only Zhou Siyan, the expectant father; herself, the accompanying family member; and Dr. Lin.
Dr. Lin: “No, I have an assistant.”
“Where is the assistant?”
Xue Yu looked again and again but didn’t see anyone else. However, she could feel a very strong presence, like a person’s breathing.
Dr. Lin had already put on her gloves and jutted her chin. “Behind you.”
Xue Yu turned her head and met a pair of sinister eyes. Her legs went weak. She let out a nervous laugh, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted with a thud, hitting the floor.
Lying on the operating table, Zhou Siyan lifted the sheet covering him, about to get down to help her. “Xue Yu, what’s wrong?”
At that moment, a cobra that had been hanging on the wall slithered down, slowly making its way towards Dr. Lin.
The cobra was indeed terrifying. It hissed, its forked scarlet tongue flicking in and out. When it reared up, it was half a person’s height and incredibly thick, as thick as an adult’s thigh.
Xue Yu had fainted from the shock of seeing this thing.
Zhou Siyan met the cobra’s gaze, his heart not stirring much.
He wanted to get down and help Xue Yu up. He said to the doctor, “Dr. Lin, let me take her outside first.”
Dr. Lin was about to give him the anesthetic. She said, “Just let her lie there. The hospital’s security isn’t very good. If she’s lying outside alone, it’s easy for someone to steal her organs.”
As she spoke, Dr. Lin inserted the needle into Zhou Siyan’s abdomen and slowly injected the anesthetic. She whistled at the cobra, and it quickly came over, coiling around her shoulder.
“This is my spirit body and also my assistant. It will help me perform the surgery on you,” Dr. Lin introduced.
Zhou Siyan adjusted his position and lay down properly. “Thank you, doctor.”
While waiting for the anesthetic to take effect, Dr. Lin walked around to look at Xue Yu lying on the floor and sighed again in admonishment:
“With such weak psychological resilience, how can she be a mother? You young people are so immature. You haven’t even grown up yourselves, and you want to raise a child.”
Zhou Siyan said in a deep voice, “She is already trying her best to grow.”
He thought for a moment and added, “Keeping the child was a carefully considered decision of mine, not child’s play.”
Dr. Lin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think you’re more mature than her, do you? You two are two of a kind. If you were truly mature, you wouldn’t have come here to have a baby, let alone keep the brood pouch and think about having a second one. You’re both equally childish, terrifyingly naive.”
Zhou Siyan said no more.
The time was right. After confirming that the anesthetic had taken effect, Dr. Lin picked up the scalpel and began the surgery.
Xue Yu lay on the floor for five minutes, then woke up on her own. She stood up groggily, holding onto the frame of the operating table.
Zhou Siyan had received a local anesthetic. He couldn’t feel his abdomen, but his mind was still clear. He tilted his head to look at the dazed Xue Yu and asked in a low voice, “Are you okay?”
Xue Yu swallowed hard, forced a smile, and rubbed the back of her head to hide her embarrassment:
“Sorry, I actually fell asleep. That’s the problem with young people, we fall asleep as soon as our head hits the pillow. I won’t stay up late anymore.”
Dr. Lin had a cheerful personality and was very relaxed during the surgery. While working, she chatted with Xue Yu. “After the baby is born, you’ll have plenty of sleepless nights. Waking up to feed the baby is just the beginning.”
Xue Yu held her breath and quickly glanced at the cobra on Dr. Lin’s shoulder, her smile pale and dry. “Dr. Lin, this is your assistant.”
Dr. Lin: “Yes, my spirit body. Isn’t it cute?”
Xue Yu couldn’t help but show a pained expression. “Haha, the little guy is quite unique.”
She was most afraid of snakes. She had a natural fear of slippery, legless creatures. Her fear of snakes was so extreme that she would be scared just by seeing a picture of one while scrolling through her phone.
When she was a child watching The Legend of the White Snake, everyone liked Lady White, Xiao Qing, and Xu Xian. She was the only one who liked Fa Hai, simply because she was too afraid of snakes.
Zhou Siyan squeezed Xue Yu’s hand. “Look at me, Xue Yu. Look into my eyes. Don’t look down.”
Besides being worried about Xue Yu’s resilience, Zhou Siyan also didn’t want Xue Yu to see him being cut open. He was a bit self-conscious about his appearance and didn’t want to expose his vulnerable side.
“Look into my eyes, Xue Yu. Just look at me. Don’t be afraid. It will be over soon.”
His voice was low, his deep eyes full of emotion.
Xue Yu’s back was also sweating. She leaned down and whispered in his ear, “I don’t want to look either. I’m just worried she’ll steal your kidneys. I have to keep an eye on her!”
With that, Xue Yu let go of Zhou Siyan’s hand.
She moved a few steps closer to Dr. Lin and looked down at the surgical site.
After her trip to Narrow Mouth Alley this morning to watch the open-air surgeries, Xue Yu’s mental preparation was more or less complete. She could tolerate the bloody scene.
But what she found unbearable about this surgery was that assistant cobra.
The cobra and Dr. Lin worked together very well. Its tail extended into the incision, helping Dr. Lin hold the bloody edges of the wound.
Xue Yu’s stomach churned. She had to clench her jaw tightly to keep from throwing up.
She was sure that by the time this surgery was over, her cheeks would be a size bigger.
It was very uncomfortable, but she didn’t dare to look away from beginning to end. She kept her eyes glued to Dr. Lin’s hand movements, afraid that she would secretly snatch one of Zhou Siyan’s parts.
“This is the brood pouch. The fetus develops in the brood pouch. Do you want to see?” Dr. Lin said, holding open the surgical incision.
Xue Yu didn’t want to be rude and refuse. She craned her neck for a look. It was just a layer of flesh, nothing much to see. She forced a smile and played along. “It’s really nice, really beautiful.”
Dr. Lin smiled and cut open the brood pouch, quickly taking out a fetus.
As soon as it was exposed to the air, the baby started crying loudly.
Xue Yu’s eyes widened, a strange feeling welling up in her heart. This was her daughter, her seed, her newborn daughter.
A hundred emotions flooded her at once, and her eyes grew hot, wanting to cry.
She had been in this world for three years, living in a daze, laughed at, looked down upon, but she had rarely cried.
At this moment, seeing this life still stained with blood, she suddenly wanted to wail. So soft, so fragile.
Dr. Lin first checked the baby’s mouth and nasal cavity for any foreign objects.
After confirming that everything was fine, she placed the baby in an incubator and ignored it, letting the baby cry in the box.
Dr. Lin turned back to suture Zhou Siyan’s wound, using a special healing agent.
The effect of the healing agent was remarkable. As soon as it was applied, the blood vessel tissues of the wound began to grow like foam, racing to heal.
After suturing Zhou Siyan’s wound, Dr. Lin picked up the baby from the incubator again and took it to the cleaning station to wash off the blood.
She clearly had no experience with babies; her movements were not very skilled.
After washing the baby, she wrapped it in a layer of medical cotton cloth and brought it to Xue Yu. “Hold it well. This is your child.”
Xue Yu carefully held the baby, her two arms feeling as if they had been anesthetized. She didn’t dare to move.
Still lying on the operating table, Zhou Siyan said urgently, “Xue Yu, let me see too.”
Xue Yu brought the baby to him. “Look, what a beautiful baby.”
When Xue Yu was in elementary school, she had seen a newborn baby once. When her aunt gave birth, she went to the hospital with her parents to wait.
When the nurse brought the baby out of the delivery room, she had curiously leaned over to look.
It wasn’t pretty at all. Its face was red and wrinkled, like a little old lady.
A week later, she went to the postpartum center to visit her aunt again and found that the little old lady in her aunt’s arms had turned into a brand new, pink, and cute baby. It was getting younger and younger as it grew. It was truly amazing.
Holding the baby in her arms, Xue Yu felt that it was quite heavy. The baby’s skin was also very smooth, with a proper nose and eyes.
It was completely different from her aunt’s baby, which was wrinkled at birth.
Dr. Lin was washing her hands at the side and said, “The baby probably weighs around ten jin.”
“Ten jin?”
Xue Yu was incredulous. She looked at Zhou Siyan on the operating table. Zhou Siyan was well-built and tall. His belly hadn’t looked ridiculously large, so she was surprised that the baby weighed ten jin.
Dr. Lin explained, “Your situation is different from a normal pregnancy. This child was probably conceived during your first intercourse. The development period was very long, and it was only born now, so it’s heavier.”
Xue Yu looked at the baby in her arms.
She and Zhou Siyan had been shamelessly at it every day three years ago. This child had been in the womb for three years. It was a little Nezha, no wonder it could talk in the belly.
She lowered her head and nuzzled the baby’s face. “Alright, a brand new, pink you has arrived in a broken era. From now on, you are my, Xue Yu’s, child.”
Zhou Siyan smiled along and reached out to touch the baby’s hand. “And my child too.”
After being moved from the operating room to the ward, Zhou Siyan had to wait another hour.
He could only get out of bed and leave the hospital after his wound had healed by eighty percent.
Xue Yu sat by the bed, holding the baby.
Zhou Siyan sat up, leaning against the pillow, his eyes never leaving the child. “The doctor said to start feeding her after half an hour, right?” he asked.
Xue Yu nodded. “Yes, ten more minutes. I’ll go mix the formula in ten minutes.”
Xue Yu still couldn’t quite get over the fact that she was a mother.
She was only twenty-three, and she had a child.
At this moment, she missed her mother on Earth especially. She wondered how her mother was doing after she had disappeared.
She really wanted to show the baby to her mother and grandmother, to tell them that she had a child.
If her mother and grandmother saw her, they would probably scold her, scold her for being so bold as to secretly have a child without telling them.
But they loved her so much. After scolding her, they would definitely help her take care of the child.
As she thought about it, tears started to fall from Xue Yu’s eyes.
Zhou Siyan wiped her face with the back of his hand. “Xue Yu, what’s wrong?”
Xue Yu tilted her head, wiping all her tears on her shoulder. “I miss my mom. I want to tell her that she has a granddaughter.”
Zhou Siyan just gently patted Xue Yu’s back. He couldn’t understand Xue Yu’s attachment to her mother.
He had never seen his own mother and didn’t know who she was.
As long as he could remember, he had been in the White Tower’s collective nursery, living with many other children, cared for by strange doctors and nurses.
Xue Yu sniffled, composed herself, and smiled. “If my mom knew I had a kid in my early twenties, she would probably beat me with a feather duster until it broke, hehe.”
Blueberry and Heimei came out on their own, without being summoned by their masters.
They circled the baby, leaning in to look, their round eyes constantly moving, expressing their affection for the child.
The little seahorse that Heimei had given birth to also crawled out of Xue Yu’s pocket and climbed onto the baby, pressing against its soft body, feeling its master’s presence.
The baby held the little seahorse like a small doll. It was very cute.
“To have a spirit body at such a young age, this child has a boundless future. As expected of my daughter,” Xue Yu smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
She was about to go mix the formula and planned to put the baby in the stroller.
Zhou Siyan reached out to take the baby. “Let me hold her.”
Xue Yu looked worried. “It wouldn’t be good if you touched your wound.”
Zhou Siyan: “It’s fine. It’s almost healed.”
Xue Yu gave the baby to Zhou Siyan and went to the pantry outside with the bottle and formula to mix the formula.
The moment she left, a very tall but thin male nurse entered the ward.
He was wearing a white coat and a white mask that covered his face tightly. His dark eyes were extremely deep, like a hunter with a heavy heart.
The male nurse approached Zhou Siyan, his voice deliberately hoarse. “Hello, Dr. Lin asked me to come and check on the baby.”
He didn’t even consult with Zhou Siyan before reaching out and taking the baby.
Mo Li lowered his head and stared at the baby in his arms. He had been very worried before. With such a strange method of pregnancy, would the baby born be a monster?
Fortunately, it wasn’t. The baby was very beautiful, with a spirit very similar to Xue Yu’s.
Holding the baby, he couldn’t help but think—
If his child were born, would it be as beautiful as the one Zhou Siyan had given birth to?
So cute, so well-behaved. The way it opened its mouth and babbled was very much like its mother.
He stood there stiffly, holding the baby, and stared for a long time.
Until Zhou Siyan’s voice broke the silence. Zhou Siyan’s voice was deep, his tone flat. “Mo Li, I’ll say it again. If you’re willing to have the child, I will treat it as my own.”
Mo Li was not surprised that Zhou Siyan had recognized him.
Zhou Siyan had always been a top performer in the White Tower, possessing an innate agility and reaction speed. He was a very outstanding officer.
He was also, in a way, Zhou Siyan’s subordinate.
He couldn’t understand how his always meticulous superior would risk giving birth to a child that was not tolerated by the White Tower.
Mo Li silently handed the baby back to Zhou Siyan and turned to leave the ward.
In the hallway, he brushed past Xue Yu, who was returning with the mixed formula.
Xue Yu was in a hurry, running into the ward with the bottle, completely oblivious to him.
Mo Li’s steps were heavy. He turned back and leaned against the metal wall by the ward door, listening to the sounds inside. He placed his calloused palm on his own abdomen.
He wasn’t showing yet; his belly showed no signs. But he could always feel a life beating inside.
“I did everything according to Dr. Lin’s instructions. Forty-five-degree water temperature, two scoops of formula. It should be fine,” Xue Yu said, leaning in front of Zhou Siyan.
Zhou Siyan took the bottle and tested the temperature against his face. “I’ll feed the baby.”
“Okay.”
Xue Yu sat by the bed, watching the baby drink milk with great interest.
The baby drank very obediently, not making a fuss. Its clear eyes darted back and forth, looking at its father, then at its mother.
“Is it good? If it’s good, drink more. Mommy will work harder at mining to buy you formula in the future,” Xue Yu teased the baby.
Zhou Siyan looked at Xue Yu and asked seriously, “Are you craving it?”
Xue Yu: “How could I? No matter how much I crave it, I wouldn’t have any ideas about the baby’s formula!”