radicalducati Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Emma didn't tell many people about her pregnancy at first, as it was still early and there was no need to announce it everywhere. Moreover, Zhong Lan was quite insistent on this matter, advising Emma not to tell anyone outside the family until the third month.
So, Emma only told Ni Pingsen, and no one else.
Ni Pingsen found out over the phone, as Emma felt a bit shy about telling her father about her pregnancy even after being married.
Sure enough, as soon as she mentioned it, there was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Ni Pingsen stammered, "How many months?"
"Not many, the doctor said it should be a little over forty days," Emma whispered.
It was indeed a recent discovery.
Ni Pingsen wanted to say something but didn't, as it was usually the mother who would impart advice on such matters. After all, a mother has given birth and can offer practical guidance, unlike a father who can only provide theoretical advice.
Gu Mingzhu had passed away too early; she hadn't even seen Emma get married, let alone advise her on having a child.
After much thought, Ni Pingsen still advised, "If you need any advice, be sure to talk to your mother-in-law, as she has experience."
Emma agreed with a smile.
Although Ni Pingsen didn't say much over the phone, he still came over the next day. When Emma got home from work, she saw him busy in the kitchen.
Previously, when Ni Pingsen wanted to move back to the old house, Emma disagreed, as it was quite old.
But Ni Pingsen insisted it was fine.
In the end, Emma couldn't persuade him otherwise, but she insisted on renovating the old house before allowing Ni Pingsen to move in, as Shanghai was inherently humid, and such an old house would be extremely damp during rainy weather.
Especially during the "returning south sky" season, when the floors would be covered in water droplets.
Ni Pingsen now occasionally came over to check on Emma, as she was particularly busy with work. He felt bad about Emma running around and always came to see her himself.
"Dad, stay here tonight," Emma said as soon as she saw him.
Seeing her clinging to his arm and acting coy, Ni Pingsen teased her, "Why are you getting more and more clingy as you grow up?"
Emma looked at him expectantly, "Dad, please stay."
"Okay."
Seeing that she really wanted him to stay, Ni Pingsen couldn't bear to disappoint her and nodded. Emma was genuinely delighted, her face full of smiles. After taking off her coat, she kept hovering around the kitchen.
"Dad, is the New Year's goods ready at home?" Emma took a bite of the rib Ni Pingsen handed her.
These were specially bought by Ni Pingsen, the perfect size for making sweet and sour ribs. With one bite, the meat was so flavorful that it was completely gone from the bone.
After finishing the first piece, Emma still wasn't satisfied.
When Jason came back, he saw Emma stealing bites of the little ribs by the dining table. He walked over with a low chuckle, tiptoeing until he was right behind her and then whispered, "What are you sneaking a bite of?"
Emma was clearly startled and accidentally bit her own fingertip.
She let out a soft cry of pain, and Jason was also startled. He quickly reached out and took her finger.
Her normally pink fingertip had a very noticeable tooth mark.
Jason felt pained: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have scared you."
As he spoke, he leaned down and gently kissed her fingertip. Emma was taken aback until she looked up and saw Ni Pingsen coming out of the kitchen.
This little moment between the couple was witnessed by the elder, causing Emma's cheeks to turn a little red.
However, Ni Pingsen's face was filled with amusement.
His little girl had found the person she loved and was being doted on like this.
How could he not be happy?
At first, Emma felt quite relaxed about her pregnancy. The first three months were supposed to be the toughest with morning sickness, yet she barely had any symptoms.
Since her check-ups had been consistently good, she didn't pay much attention and took it easy.
It wasn't until Tang Mi invited her out for a meal and casually asked, "When do you and President Jason plan to have a child?" that things changed. Both of them were so good-looking, and Tang Mi couldn't wait to see what kind of divine-looking baby they would have.
Emma, who was eating dessert across the table, suddenly looked up and said, "I'm pregnant."
"When?" Tang Mi asked, her face full of surprise.
After a moment of astonishment, Emma finally remembered that she hadn't told anyone because Zhong Lan had advised her not to say anything until after the first three months.
Now that the three months were up, she hadn't had the chance to tell Tang Mi yet.
When Emma told Tang Mi that she was already three months pregnant, Tang Mi looked at her stomach in confusion, opened her mouth, and after a while, finally said, "I feel like my belly is bigger than yours."
It was early spring, and Emma had her coat on the chair next to her, wearing a loose beige sweater.
She was still slender and delicate.
Not to mention her flat stomach, which showed no sign of a bump.
Emma whispered, "Actually, if you lift up the clothes, you can see it's bulging."
Since she never had a belly to begin with, the slight rise of her abdomen was quite noticeable, even if it was hidden under her loose sweater.
"Boy or girl?" Tang Mi immediately asked out of curiosity.
Emma shook her head, "We don't know yet."
Although it's not allowed to detect the sex of the fetus in advance, if Emma really wanted to know, she could go to Hong Kong. However, neither she nor Jason was in a hurry; it was like a gift from God.
So they wanted to wait until the last moment to unwrap this precious gift.
Whether it was a little boy or a little girl, it would be her most precious treasure.
The next time she went for a check-up, Director Jiang, who had been examining her, looked at the ultrasound report and suddenly smiled, "Mom is going to have a tough time ahead."
Emma was taken aback and was about to ask what was going on.
Director Jiang said, "Carrying twins is much more strenuous than carrying a single baby."
This statement left both Emma and Zhong Lan stunned. Jason was too busy to come today, so Zhong Lan accompanied Emma to the check-up.
They didn't expect to receive such news.
Although when Emma first got pregnant, she had joked with Jason about wanting to have two children at once, preferably a boy and a girl, so as to have both a son and a daughter and save time.
After all, getting two precious babies at once should double the happiness.
However, they also knew that twins were rare, not to mention the even rarer occurrence of boy-girl twins.
Of course, modern technology could make it possible to have boy-girl twins at once, but Emma's pregnancy was natural, and they were just waiting for God's blessing.
But she didn't expect that her wish would actually come true.
Zhong Lan was even more excited than her and quickly asked, "Really? Twins?"
"Yes, look here," Director Jiang said with a smile, showing the ultrasound to Zhong Lan, who looked at it as if she couldn't bear to let go.
After they got in the car to go home, before they even arrived, Zhong Lan had already called Huo Zhenzhong to share the good news. She said triumphantly, "Something happened at the hospital today, want to guess what it is?"
Her tone was so joyful that Huo Zhenzhong probably guessed it was good news, considering Emma had a check-up today.
After all, this matter was what Zhong Lan had talked about with him for half the night yesterday, and even the busy Huo Zhenzhong remembered it.
Hearing Zhong Lan say this, he simply said with a smile, "Can't guess, please tell me, beautiful Mrs. Zhong."
Zhong Lan was amused by him: "Alright, I'll reluctantly tell you, Jingxi is having twins, twins."
She specifically repeated the word "twins" twice.
Huo Zhenzhong: "Really?"
"Director Jiang checked Jingxi personally, it's absolutely true."
So the elderly couple was overjoyed on the phone, and they even began to exchange tips on raising twins, at least now everything they needed to prepare had to be doubled.
Emma took out her phone, wanting to call Jason, but Zhong Lan was still on the call next to her, so she didn't dial the number.
Who would have thought that as soon as they got home and the car stopped at the door, Emma's phone rang.
It was Jason calling.
Emma: "Hello."
Jason laughed, "Did you have the check-up? Are you almost home?"
He had timed his call to Emma, figuring she should be on her way home, perhaps already there.
Emma nodded, "I'm already home."
"How was it?"
Hearing his words, Emma paused, then whispered, "Shenyan."
"Hmm?" Jason responded, his voice deep and showing no significant emotion, appearing particularly calm, as if sensing Emma's heavy tone, which was why he deliberately put on a calm demeanor.
In reality, he was extremely anxious inside.
After all, he had accompanied Emma to the hospital before, especially the obstetrics and gynecology department, where they had heard about high-risk Down syndrome fetuses, low heart rates, and even the danger of fetal stoppage.
Emma: "The doctor said I'm having twins."
There was a good few seconds of silence on the other end, seemingly processing this information, until he said, "Twins?"
Emma nodded, "Yes, twins."
Suddenly, a heavy breath came through the phone to her ear, and Jason's breathing was now audible: "Star."
He suddenly had so much he wanted to say to Emma.
But at the same time, he felt like he couldn't say anything.
Finally, he chuckled softly, "Two, we're having two babies."
To welcome these two treasures, the entire Jason family was on high alert. Just the decision on whether Emma should recuperate at a confinement center or have a dedicated nursing team at home was discussed several times by Zhong Lan and Jason.
But in the end, they decided to let Emma recuperate at home.
After all, even if the confinement center was private, there were still others around, not as secure as being at home.
Zhong Lan began to prepare things personally. Emma's villa was not small, over six hundred square meters, but it was still smaller compared to the Jason family mansion.
Fortunately, Zhong Lan knew that the confinement period needed to be comfortable for Emma.
So she sent all the prepared items over, and Emma watched as her home filled with little things every day, even someone as un-girly as her was almost melted by the cuteness.
Even Jason wasn't much better than her; when the baby crib was brought home, the two of them stood by the crib for a long time, reluctant to leave.
As the days went by, Emma's belly visibly grew larger.
She was naturally slender, and even after getting pregnant, she didn't overeat to supplement her nutrition. Instead, she followed a menu customized by a nutritionist for scientific fetal nurturing.
By the eighth month, her limbs were still slender.
But her belly looked a bit big, after all, she was carrying two children.
Especially in the later stages, she truly understood once again why pregnant women on TV always walked holding their bellies; sometimes she felt the weight of her belly was really uncomfortable.
Fortunately, her condition was still good, and she didn't have the edema common in late pregnancy.
Because the doctor had instructed that she must walk more, which was beneficial for labor.
Jason was now trying to compress his work as much as possible. He was still traveling for work a few months ago, but after the seventh month, he never left Shanghai.
This was really difficult for him.
Emma knew the heavy burden on his shoulders, so she never complained to him, but she was deeply moved when she knew he was reducing his workload.
Her due date was October 1st, which happened to be National Day.
After several check-ups, the doctor said she was young and in good condition, and could try to give birth naturally. Jason had really studied the matter of natural birth and cesarean section.
He also knew that in terms of postpartum recovery, natural birth was the best choice.
He agreed with the doctor's suggestion but still said, "Please make sure she has painless childbirth."
Previously, the question of whether pregnant women should have painless childbirth had occasionally sparked debates online. Of course, the Jason family were reasonable people and didn't have so many ignorant notions.
Zhong Lan had also given birth and had even experienced postpartum hemorrhage, so for Emma's childbirth, she had only one requirement: to minimize her pain and protect her as much as possible.
Emma's stomach started to hurt on September 18th, and she was admitted to the hospital that day.
Although there were still more than ten days until her due date, she was carrying twins, and it was estimated that she might give birth before the due date. However, Emma stayed in the hospital for two days until the morning of the 20th when she truly went into labor.
At first, she was still quite relaxed, changed into a set of clothes, and even walked around for a while.
Because her delivery room was VIP, she didn't need to go to a special delivery room and could give birth right there. The elders were waiting outside, with only Jason by her side.
Starting from around nine in the morning, they waited.
It wasn't until three in the afternoon that Emma truly began to give birth.
After a full three hours, when she felt like all the sweat in her body was about to dry up, the doctor happily told her that they could see the baby's head.
When the doctor delivered the first child, she happily told Emma, "It's a boy."
Emma let out a sigh of relief; it turned out to be a pair of boys.
Five minutes later, when the second child was held in the doctor's hands, the doctor's voice was even more excited than before: "This one is a girl, a little sister."
"Congratulations, congratulations, it's a pair of boy-girl twins."
In just a few minutes, everyone waiting outside the delivery room knew the news—it was a set of siblings.
Jason immediately asked, "How is my wife?"
"She is being observed. Please wait a moment before the mother and babies can meet the family."
Emma had been feeling fine, with no major issues, and kept turning her head to look at the two little babies lying in the transparent bassinets. Their eyes were closed, their hair was black and lush, and their little faces were indistinguishable.
But it was so magical; they were her children.
As she was admiring her own children, the doctor became excited because Emma had bled again during the observation period.
The doctor reassured her that everything was fine, and Emma remained calm, indicating she was okay.
However, more and more doctors gathered in the delivery room. In no time, what had been three midwives in the room had grown to seven or eight.
Naturally, Jason and the others outside noticed the increasing number of doctors entering.
Just then, the babies finished their observation and were brought out.
Jason immediately asked the nurse, "How is my wife really doing?"
"Please wait a moment," the nurse said, briefly explaining the situation. Jason's face turned pale, and his expression became more serious.
Zhong Lan kept looking at the two little babies while glancing inside.
After an unknown amount of time, everything inside finally settled down. When Jason went in, he saw Emma lying on the hospital bed. If his face had turned pale before, Emma's face was now as white as paper.
His eyes felt a bit sore for a moment, and he quickly went over, gently holding her hand.
"Star," Jason whispered, and Emma's eyes slightly moved until her eyelids struggled to open. He immediately said, "No need to open your eyes, if you're tired, just rest. I won't disturb you."
Emma was not only tired but also weak from postpartum hemorrhage.
In her drowsy state, she felt a soft touch on her forehead and a man's deep voice saying, "I love you."
*
The Jason family was overjoyed to have a pair of boy-girl twins.
This was indeed a significant happy event. As soon as the news spread, Emma and Jason's phones were almost ringing off the hook. Jason was a bit annoyed because there was no accurate information, so everyone was calling to ask him.
So the next day, when the two little ones were brought back after being bathed, Zhong Lan placed one on each of Jason's arms.
"Don't move, let me take a picture for you," Zhong Lan said, too delighted. She claimed to take one photo, but all that could be heard was the continuous clicking of her phone.
Jason looked down at the two little beings in his arms, the slightly larger one on the left was the sister, and the slightly smaller one on the right was the brother.
The brother weighed five pounds, and the sister weighed five pounds and four ounces.
Doctors say that female babies usually weigh more than male babies.
Logically, newborns shouldn't look like much, but these two little darlings were born with double eyelids and surprisingly high nasal bridges. Their facial features were not a blur, but rather strikingly clear.
Zhong Lan hadn't stopped praising them since last night.
Yesterday, Jason was here with Emma, and although Zhong Lan went back to rest at night, she came back early in the morning.
After taking photos, Jason put the children down and then picked up his phone to look at it.
He wasn't satisfied with just looking at them himself; he also wanted to show Emma.
After Emma picked the best-angled photo of him slightly lowering his head and looking at the little ones in his arms, a soft light shone from behind, making the scene particularly peaceful and serene.
"This one's good," Emma nodded.
Jason nodded, operated his phone for a while, and Emma, feeling a bit tired, fell asleep again. When she woke up and picked up the phone on the bedside table, she realized her messages had been bombarded.
When she opened her social media, she found many posts where she was tagged.
Out of curiosity, she clicked in and saw that Jason had posted a status update over an hour ago.
Jason: @Emma, you've worked hard, thank you for the two gifts.
In the photo, he was holding the two babies, looking down with a gentle smile.
The scene was so beautiful.
Such a private person, he couldn't help but want to show off his happiness to the whole world.
Emma read the message again and smiled once more.
Three years later.
In the Jason family mansion, there was a series of gunshots, followed by a little girl in a white dress rushing out with a gun, shouting, "Brother, don't move, you've been caught by me."
Although she shouted, there was no response from a little boy in the room.
Little Cotton looked around, pouting slightly; her brother wasn't taking the bait.
When she used to play hide-and-seek with her brother, he would obediently come out whenever she shouted like that. The little girl, holding a toy gun, began to patrol seriously.
Emma sat on the sofa, turned to the man beside her, and asked with a low chuckle, "Do you think our daughter will find him?"
"If Ze Shi doesn't want to come out, she probably won't find him," Jason said indifferently.
Huo Ze Shi is their son's name.
Although he and Little Cotton are boy-girl twins, they not only don't look very alike, but their personalities are also completely different.
Little Cotton, their little girl, is undeniably cute with a standard doll-like appearance.
Yet, the little girl prefers toys that are not dolls, but various cars and guns.
Ze Shi is very quiet and smart; even Emma can tell that every time they play hide-and-seek, he deliberately lets his sister win. Unfortunately, their little girl thinks her brother is slow, and she catches him every time.
After she repeatedly teased Ze Shi for being slow, even her brother, who always lets her win, was now motivated by a competitive spirit.
They had also wanted to give Ze Shi a nickname, but after much thought, they couldn't come up with a particularly good one.
In the end, they simply called him by his given name, which somehow added a cute sense of formality.
Today, Jason was rarely at home on a weekend, and Emma and he did nothing but sit on the sofa watching their two little ones play hide-and-seek.
Finally, Little Cotton grew impatient and ran to Jason with her gun.
She looked up and asked, "Dad, do you know where brother is?"
Seeing her attempt to cheat by asking her dad for help, Emma immediately said, "Little Cotton, you can't ask Dad."
So the little girl didn't ask anymore; she gently tugged at Jason's sleeve.
Jason never had any resistance to her; he glanced back, and the little girl followed his gaze, finally spotting a corner of Ze Shi's clothes and pounced over.
"Brother," Little Cotton almost hugged Ze Shi as she ran over.
Ze Shi was initially annoyed that she asked their dad, but after being hugged like that, he hugged her back and said with a smile, "Sis."
Emma looked at Ze Shi, who had no stance at all, and glanced back at Jason, whispering, "He's just like you, with no stance at all when it comes to his sister."
Jason looked at her and said calmly, "I'm the same with you."
With no stance at all, he would give her the whole world if he could.