Her belly, heavy with imminent birth, pressed down in front of her, almost resting against her thighs.
Cecilia shifted her legs apart a little, giving the baby inside more room to move downward.
She didn't dare make a sound in front of the children — all she could do was clench her teeth tightly.
But pain like this was impossible to hide. No matter how hard she tried, her expression betrayed her agony.
Little Rice Cake reached out gently to touch his mother's belly; it was hard now, not soft and warm like usual.
"Be good, little sister. Don't make Mommy hurt," he whispered, trying to soothe his unborn sister. His heart ached, and tears plopped down his cheeks.
Will Mommy die? he thought, sobbing quietly.
"Waaah, Little Rice Cake won't fight anymore, I won't get into fights..." he choked out, somehow thinking his skirmish at kindergarten had made his mommy feel bad.
Fu Zhiyan held Cecilia close, glanced at his son, and said sternly, "Fu Xingshu, stop crying. Mommy will be fine."
"Sniff..."
Little Rice Cake wiped away his tears with his sleeve, trying hard not to cry, looking utterly pitiful.
"There, there. Um, your little sister just wants to come out and play," Cecilia tried to comfort him, but a sudden wave of pain made her voice rise, "Ah... Zhiyan!"
She buried her face in Fu Zhiyan's chest, not wanting the children to see, teeth biting down hard on her lip.
It was rush hour, so there was traffic on the road and the car could only crawl forward. Another red light forced them to stop.
Fu Zhiyan rubbed her back gently, his face writ with worry.
Soon, they reached the hospital. The doctor had already been called ahead, and Cecilia was carefully moved onto a stretcher and taken up a private elevator.
Fu Zhiyan held tightly to her hand all the way, reminding Old Third to look after the kids and call home.
Little Rice Cake watched as his mother was quickly whisked away. He wanted to follow, but Old Third hadn't called yet and scooped the child up in his arms.
"Young master, hold on — let me call the Madam and the family first," Old Third said.
The usually neat and tidy child was now a mess from crying. After finishing the call, Old Third rubbed his own face and started comforting him.
"Shhh, don't cry, young master. Nothing's wrong — Madam is just having your little sister."
With both parents gone, Little Rice Cake clung to Old Third's thick neck, burying his head on the man's shoulder. In a tiny voice, he asked the question weighing on his heart.
"Uncle Old Third, is Mommy going to die...?"
"Pfft," Old Third was stunned stiff by the soft little dumpling's hug. If this was a fight, he'd flatten ten of these kids in a punch.
Coughing awkwardly — now really wasn't the time for that thought — he fidgeted, trying to placate the child.
"No, no, she won’t die. Childbirth isn’t fatal."
"If having babies could kill you, who in the world would still have a mom?"
Blunt, but not wrong.
Little Rice Cake was quick-witted. His big eyes rolled thoughtfully, as if realizing he made sense.
Old Third finished his point: "Exactly! Last time, I was also the one who drove Madam here to give birth to you. I was shaking like a leaf, but look — you were born just fine, and so was Madam."
Little Rice Cake raised his head from that broad shoulder and nodded hard, "You're right! Uncle Old Third, you’re so smart!"
Suddenly praised, Old Third puffed up with pride, grinning ear to ear.
He whipped out a tissue, dabbing away the boy’s tears. "Of course. I could score eighty on my tests as a kid. Don’t worry! The first time’s nerve-wracking, second time’s easy — you’ll get used to it!"
With Little Rice Cake in his arms, Old Third strutted out majestically. "Come on, we’ll wait at the entrance for Master and Madam, and then head upstairs together."
"Okay!"
Little Rice Cake shot one last worried look back. Even though he was still anxious, he decided to wait for Great-Grandpa Rivers and Great-Grandma Rivers before heading up, so Mommy wouldn’t worry.
Upstairs, Cecilia was wheeled into a hospital room. Song Ying wasn’t back yet, but another doctor she arranged was waiting.
A quick exam: dilation had begun, so now it was just a waiting game.
The contractions weren't regular yet — fast for a bit, then slowing down.
Fu Zhiyan helped her change out of her clothes. Compared to last time, he was much more practiced, but just as anxious.
"Baby, does it still hurt?"
Just moments ago in the car, Cecilia had nearly cried from the pain, but now it wasn’t so bad.
"I’m fine. Right now it doesn’t hurt that much, just a little."
"Good, then get some rest."
They'd barely finished two sentences when the voices of Grandpa Rivers, Grandma Rivers, and Little Rice Cake echoed from outside.
"Great-Grandpa Rivers, I got into a fight today," Little Rice Cake announced.
"That’s how you hurt your hand?"
"Yeah, I got scratched. But I didn’t cry!" the little troublemaker said proudly, making Cecilia and Fu Zhiyan laugh despite themselves.
"When we get home, remember to talk to him about it," Cecilia said warmly. She didn’t think her son was in the wrong, but some things still needed to be addressed.
Fu Zhiyan raised his eyebrow, "Yeah, I need to teach him some martial arts — taekwondo? Muay Thai? Grappling? Close combat? Next time, I can't have him getting the short end of the stick in a fight."
"Hey, you—ouch." Cecilia rubbed her belly before she could scold him.
Immediately, Fu Zhiyan's look turned to concern and he leaned in to massage her, "Why does it hurt again?"
"Because... that’s just how childbirth is..."
The door swung open. Grandpa Rivers, Grandma Rivers, and Ye Jing entered.
"How is everything?"
Everyone gathered at her bedside, squeezing Fu Zhiyan to the back. He rubbed his forehead. "All’s fine, the doctor checked. Just have to wait a bit longer."
Little Rice Cake kicked his legs, wanting to get down. Ye Jing helped him off and he trotted over, leaning on the bed to hold his mother’s hand. "Mommy, does it still hurt?"
Cecilia shook her head. "Not anymore. Soon you’ll go home with Grandma Rivers, all right?"
No one could be sure when the baby would arrive — it could be tomorrow.
Little Rice Cake latched onto her hand like a tiny koala. "I don’t wanna go home. I want to stay with you, Mommy."
He was usually obedient, but now, too worried to leave her side.
Fu Zhiyan pulled his son close and explained patiently, "But Mommy didn’t eat dinner after picking you up. Why don’t you go home with Great-Grandma Rivers, tell Aunt Whitney that Mommy wants chicken soup and veggies, and bring them with Grandma Rivers tomorrow, okay?"
The boy’s eyes flicked. "But... Uncle Old Third can bring them."
This little smarty was getting hard to fool, making everyone else chuckle as they watched Fu Zhiyan for his response.
"Uh, but if you bring them yourself, Mommy will like it even more! And if you come by tomorrow, you’ll get to meet your little sister right away."
"Really?" Little Rice Cake looked hopeful.
"Really. Daddy promises."
"Okay! I’ll go get chicken soup for Mommy then!"
Problem solved.
After staying with Cecilia for a while, Grandpa Rivers and Grandma Rivers took Little Rice Cake home. Ye Jing remained at the hospital to help out.
Not long after, dinner arrived from home. Cecilia ate a bit, and on the doctor’s advice, got up to slowly walk around.
The second child was coming faster than last time — keep moving, and she’d probably give birth by midnight.
(Author’s note: I’ll post another chapter tonight! Not slacking off! But I’m heading out to grab a movie now~ xoxo~)