Inside the hospital parking lot, Lu Shaoyan hung up on his phone and said to Lin Zhan, who was smoking in the driver’s seat, “She’s given birth. Twins, a boy and a girl. The mother and the two children are all sound and healthy. You feel better now?

  Upon hearing that, Lin Zhan extinguished his cigarette on the car window. There were a lot of cigarette butts by his feet. Lu Shaoyan was speechless when he saw that. “Brother, it’s Ashton Marin, kind of expensive.”


  Lin Zhan smiled and didn’t say anything. He looked up at the hospital patient room with lights coming from the inside. He knew that the room that he was looking at was not the one that Ye Zhen was in, but he couldn’t stop himself from waiting at the hospital where she was, until he heard that she was safe.

  Now that he knew that she was safe, he finally felt that a burden had been lifted.

  He let out a long sigh and smiled as he looked at the hospital building.

  “Let’s go.”


  The car started and Lin Zhan drove away slowly from the parking lot and the brightly-lit hospital.

  Nobody knew that he had been there.

  Much like nobody knew that he smoked the entire night outside of the hospital four years ago.

  ***

  “These are my little brother and sister? They are so ugly!” Zhouzhou looked back and forth at the two swaddled babies and pouted. He couldn’t believe that the two wrinkly and red babies were his little brother and sister!

  They must be lying to him!

  He was so cute himself, so why were his little brother and sister two little monkeys?

  How would he show them off in the future then?

  With a gentle smack to the back of his head, Mother Lu smiled and said, “They are not ugly at all. They are so cute. Why would you say they are ugly? Have you forgotten, Zhouzhou? You looked just like that when you were born too.”


  “That’s impossible! I am so cute. How could I look like that when I was born!” He said seriously. “Grandma, you must have gotten it wrong. I remember I was white and soft when I was born. I was very cute!”


  “All babies look like this when they are born.” The nurse smiled and explained to him. “They will look as cute as you after they have grown up some.”


  “Is that true?”


  “Of course that is true.” Lu Beichuan walked inside the room, took a look at Ye Zhen, who was still asleep, and asked softly, “Do you want to hold them?”


  Zhouzhou looked excitedly at the two babies whose eyes weren’t even opened yet. “Yes!”


  The nurse carefully placed one of the babies in Zhouzhou’s arms. Lu Beichuan’s hands were under the baby. “Daddy, look. He’s smiling at me!”


  The swaddled baby’s lip twitched a little, looking like he had smiled.

  “This is your little brother. That’s your little sister. Zhouzhou will protect them well in the future, okay?”


  Zhouzhou nodded vehemently and cracked open his mouth and smiled. “Don’t worry, Daddy. Zhouzhou is all grown up now. I’m not a little kid anymore. I will take good care of my little brother and sister in the future. I won’t let anything bad happen to them! When the two of them grow up, the three of us will protect Mommy!”


  Zhouzhou was filled with confidence. He was short of patting his chest while making his promise.

  Lu Beichuan stroked his little head in approval.

  Ye Zhen stirred in bed. She opened up her eyes, looked around, and happened to see Lu Beichuan.

  Even after over two hours of surgery, her anesthesia hadn’t entirely worn off yet. Ye Zhen gave him a tired smile and said, “Why are you the first one I see when I woke up?”


  “Do you find me annoying?”


  Ye Zhen nodded. “Yes, but make sure you annoy me for life.”


  Lu Beichuan held her hand. “Don’t worry. Even if you find me annoying, I am here to stay.”


  Ye Zhen smiled at him. “Where are the babies?”


  The nurse quickly brought the two babies over. “Mrs. Lu, the sister came out first, then the little brother.”


  Ye Zhen lifted her head up to look at the two newborn babies. “I knew it. Two more wrinkly babies.”


  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Lu. The babies will become pretty after a while.”


  As soon as they were done talking, the swaddled babies woke up and started to cry. Their clear voices resonated in the room.

  “They must be hungry. Zhenzhen, you get some more rest. I’ll take them to be fed.”


  “Thank you, Mom.”


  “No problem. You’ve done all the heavy lifting.” As she spoke, she picked up one of the babies, looked at Zhouzhou, and asked, “Do you want to come with Grandma to feed your little brother and sister, Zhouzhou?”


  Of course Zhouzhou was willing. He quickly gave Ye Zhen a kiss on her cheek and said, “You get some rest, Mommy. Be good. Zhouzhou will be back to see you.”


  Ye Zhen wasn’t sure what to make out of Zhouzhou’s behavior.

  Soon, Ye Zhen and Lu Beichuan were the only ones left inside the hospital room.

  “Mr. Lu, the babies were born. Do you think we can handle three children?”


  “Don’t worry. I will work hard and make lots of money. I am sure we will be able to manage.” Having said that, Lu Beichuan looked at her tired face and asked softly, feeling bad, “Are you still hurting?”


  Ye Zhen shook her head, “No. I don’t feel anything after the anesthesia. Much better than when I had Zhouzhou.”


  “Let me know if you start to hurt. Now get some rest. I will be right here. I am not going anywhere.”


  “Right here?”


  “Mmhmm, right here. You will be seeing me again when you open up your eyes next. It will forever be me.”


  Ye Zhen teased him by shuddering. “Oh, Mr. Lu, you are giving me goosebumps!”


  Lu Beichuan straightened up her blanket and said, “Hurry up and rest. Else I will continue to give you goosebumps.”