Chyou cradled her brother just like how she watched An Guoting doing so. Xiang was peacefully sleeping as he was gently swung.
Xiaosi smiled and kissed Caihong’s forehead. “Thank you.”
”You have said that a thousand times now,” she pinched his cheeks.
He shook his head. “I cannot help it. Whenever I think about how dangerous it could have been for you, I still shudder with fear. Thankfully, there was no danger this time.”
She smiled. “How could there be any danger? You and Chyou were there at my side like the strongest pillars of the world by my side. Nothing bad could have happened.”
Xiaosi was close to tears.
”Oof! No more crying! You have already worried yourself enough.”
As if Xiang also agreed with her, his tiny brows furrowed and he began to cry too.
”Waaaa….”
”See?”
Chyou pouted. “Dada, you’re making my brother cry!”
”…”
”I did nothing!”
Caihong harrumphed. “What nothing? Xiang also understood. He doesn’t want to see his father sad, so he is warning you.”
He cleared his throat. “That might be because he is just hungry.”
She rolled her eyes.
Caihong took little Xiang from Chyou and did her best to make him stop crying. Chyou also helped her by making funny faces and tickling him.
Xiaosi watched the three of them with a warm gaze and smile on his face. Never in his dreams had he imagined that this day would ever come in his life.
Now, he had the love of his wife whom he had always so dearly loved from the beginning. Chyou and Caihong’s relationship was now just like any other mother-daughter pair in this world.
And now they had a cute addition in their family. Their son, Zhu Xiang.
What more could I ever want?
—
Han Huizhong was watching the family of four from outside with a light smile on his lips.
Zhiyuan came up from behind him and whispered, “You didn’t meet them.”
He turned and raised his brow. “I don’t want to.”
”The past is already in the past, Grandpa.”
”Yes. For them, it is. They might have forgiven me or forgotten the incident. But I cannot. I was a curse on their lives eight years back. Now that they have come together as a family again, I feel my presence will only ruin everything.”
”That’s not true, and you know it. In fact, I noticed Xiaosi and Caihong looking for you. Everybody came to meet Xiang but not you.”
Han Huizhong shrugged. “It’s not like I won’t ever get to see him. It’s just that I don’t want to intrude upon right now. I feel it will be a bad omen.”
Zhiyuan sighed. “Since when did you start to believe in good or bad omens?”
”Ever since reality slapped me hard on my face.”
There was a beat of silence after which Zhiyuan patted his shoulder. “Irrespective of what you think, you are welcome to meet him anytime you want. But if you want to take your time, then I won’t force you.”
Han Huizhong watched them laughing slowly nodded with an ever so soft smile on his lips.
—
Another three months later, Yunru and Zizi’s twins also stepped into this world. It had come as a pleasant surprise to the couple that Zizi was carrying not one but two children in her belly.
At first, they were thrilled but then Zizi wailed, afraid.
”Yunru, how will I take care of two kids!? I feel like I am a child myself!”
Yunru chuckled. “You don’t have to be so frightened, Princess. They will be two chubby babies. Plus, you don’t have to do it alone. There is me, Dad, sis, brother-in-law and our whole gang. You will be fine.”
”But I don’t know anything about parenthood!”
”…”
He facepalmed. “And you think I have done my masters in that? This is our first time together. And we will rock it,” he winked.
The more months passed by, the more Zizi’s mood swings grew. She had morning sickness upto the fifth month, and she could hardly eat anything. Amidst this, they came to know that they were having twins.
The morning sickness coupled with her mood swings brought doubts in her mind about her capabilities and suddenly, two children felt too many. She wondered if she could be a good mother to even one child.
That had troubled her a lot but with Yunru’s love and confidence, she slowly got out of it, and her mood swings decreased as well. Naturally, Soo Enlai was at her side too, fiercely supporting his daughter-in-law.
And now that the twins had finally entered their lives, they felt complete.
Only complete, not peaceful though because peace bade them goodbye at the time of their birth.
”Waaaaaaa….”
”Waaaaaaaa….”
The twins, the elder son Soo Yijun and younger daughter, Soo Zhenya were wailing at the top of their voices, and Zizi had no idea about what to do with her crying kids.
So, she cried with them.
Yunru saw the whole mess and laughed. “You are supposed to stop them from crying, Princess. Not cry with them.”
She tearfully glared at him. “I don’t know why they are even crying! They are already well-fed since an hour ago. What more do they want from meeeeeeee?” She burst into tears.
Soo Enlai came to her rescue and checked their diapers. “Aish! You need to change their diapers. No biggie.”
”…”
”Oh…I will do it.”
Yunru pushed her and made her sleep on the bed. “No, we will do it. You just sleep now. You didn’t get any decent sleep last night. You are tired.”
She tugged his shirt. “So are you. You were awake with me the whole night.”
”I am used to it because of my job. So, I am fine. Now no more arguments and go to sleep. Dad and I will look after them.”
Zizi’s drowsy eyes couldn’t help but take that offer and she quickly dozed off to sleep.
Soo Enlai’s heart ached for her. “Aish, she looks like your mother when you and Xinyi were babies. Hehe, but don’t worry. Your father is a pro in taking care of twins. You and Xinyi had grilled us hard, so nothing can faze this young, handsome man!”
His mouth twitched.
Young, handsome…