An Jing woke up in the middle of the night, at the hour of the pig, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw her husband sitting by the bed, his hand tightly clasping hers, making her feel both warm and sweet inside.
"Husband..." She smiled at him, and even though she was still very weak, her smile was exceptionally bright.
Xiao Changyi’s handsome face showed no emotion, but the grip on her hand tightened slightly. Leaning in, he first kissed her forehead before saying in a low voice, "Jing Er, you’ve worked hard."
She had fainted at the time, which is why he could only say these words to her now.
An Jing kept smiling at him, while also shaking her head, "Not hard. Not hard at all."
Xiao Changyi didn’t call her out for lying but instead said, "Jing Er, thank you."
Thank you for giving me a home, thank you for bearing me so many lovely children.
Understanding the deep meaning in his words, An Jing simply smiled.
"Hungry?" Without waiting for An Jing to reply, Xiao Changyi asked again, "Or are you thirsty?"
An Jing shook her head; she didn’t feel hungry or thirsty at all. She just thought, "Husband, our children, there seem to be four, right? Before I fainted I remember giving birth to four. I want to see them."
Saying this, An Jing tried to struggle to get up, but Xiao Changyi wouldn’t let her, insisting she continue to lie in bed.
"Doctor Jiang said you’re severely weak and that it would be best to lie down for a few days. If you want to see the children, I’ll bring them to you," he said.
"Mhm." An Jing could feel her lack of strength and agreed it was better to stay lying down without getting up.
The four children were just in a rocking cradle not far away, and at this hour, all four of them were already asleep. Xiao Changyi walked over on tiptoe, then, very carefully, one by one, he moved the four little ones from the rocking cradle to the bed.
Arranged in order of size, they were laid out in front of An Jing so that she could see them even without getting up.
Even though the four children were wrapped in swaddling clothes, An Jing could still see that these four children were smaller than the average newborn.
But even as gentle as Xiao Changyi was, Boss and number four still woke up. However, they didn’t cry and instead looked at Xiao Changyi and An Jing with their dark little eyes rolling around.
"Husband, they’re awake!" An Jing was delighted, but she kept her voice very low, afraid to wake up the other two little ones, who were sleeping very soundly, one of them even blowing bubbles from their mouth—utterly adorable.
Xiao Changyi looked at the four children and then at An Jing. The corners of his cool lips turned up slightly as he softly affirmed, "Mhm."
And An Jing, watching the four little ones, noticed how tiny they truly were; the more she looked, the redder her eyes became, and her voice started to choke up, "Husband, did I really give birth to these? All of them?"
Xiao Changyi nodded and responded, "Mhm." Then, lowering his head, he nuzzled her forehead and spoke with an even softer voice, "Don’t cry, it would break my heart."
An Jing immediately laughed, though her voice was still somewhat choked, "I’m not crying. If I were, it’d be tears of joy."
She was truly too happy!
Xiao Changyi was silent, simply continuing to nuzzle her forehead.
Seeing this scene, number four in the swaddle blinked his eyes and then his little mouth split open in a smile.
An Jing caught this out of the corner of her eye and was instantly amused, "Husband, our youngest son seems to be laughing at us."
Number four just grinned for a while but soon couldn’t keep up and stopped smiling.