CH 87

The third trimester of pregnancy is probably the most difficult stage of the entire pregnancy process.

Even though Jiang Xu didn’t have to go to work anymore, he still couldn’t tolerate the parts of life that he couldn’t take care of himself.

He couldn’t walk, he occasional had difficulty breathing, his bladder was frequently pressured at night, and his feet were so swollen that he couldn’t wear shoes.

He couldn’t sit for long or stand for long, and the heavy pressure followed him everywhere he went.

Sleep, which used to be the best time of day, had become a nightmare. No matter how he lay down, he couldn’t get comfortable, and turning over and moving have become increasingly difficult and awkward.

Moreover, Xiaoxiao had become more and more energetic, and as soon as it’s time to sleep, she starts to get restless.

But what Jiang Xu found most difficult to accept was his almost uncontrollable emotional state.

Nothing was more devastating than frequent insomnia so the inexplicable low pressure was particularly evident at night. On several occasions, Jiang Xu wouldn’t even realize what had happened before his nose suddenly became sore.

Shen Fangyu was distressed and always carefully soothed him to sleep, accompanied him during bathroom breaks, and massaged his feet and legs.

But Dr. Shen still had to go to work.

Every time Shen Fangyu worked the night shift, Jiang Xu’s symptoms would get worse, especially when negative emotions hit. There was no one to comfort him, and he often couldn’t sleep all night.

Sometimes Shen Fangyu would call him, but a doctor’s phone has to be on standby for 24 hours. If the call is too long, Jiang Xu would worry that Shen Fangyu will miss important calls. Besides, one had to grab the few minutes of sleep during the night shift, so he also worried that Shen Fangyu won’t get enough rest and won’t be energetic enough to perform surgeries the next day.

So they’d only chat for a few minutes before he would take the initiative to hang up.

The night shift at Jihua continued on to the afternoon shift, and there was no rest time. One night, Shen Fangyu was on the night shift as usual, and Jiang Xu suddenly remembered this fact after ordering takeout.

The takeout box was full of delicious food that no one appreciated and Jiang Xu only ate two bites before putting down his chopsticks.

He suddenly craved tiger skin green peppers and bozai cakes.

The students’ experiments still hadn’t made much progress and after flipping through a pile of documents, he couldn’t find any valuable information for his students’ projects. Jiang Xu looked at the leftovers on the table and felt really depressed, so he opened WeChat and sent out an unusual post:

“Don’t marry a doctor. You will become unhappy.”

The long lost presence suddenly appeared on WeChat, and various comments flooded in.

Most of the bystanders who didn’t know the truth thought that the “doctor” Jiang Xu talked about was himself, and jokingly asked him which suitor he was rejecting. Meanwhile, several colleagues in the same department were concerned whether he had a fight with his girlfriend.

Huo Chengchun, who knew part of the inside story, instantly commented, “Leave him and come with me!”

After a while, Li Yalei replied with a question mark under that comment. It was unclear whether it was for Jiang Xu or Huo Chengchun, but shortly after, Huo Chengchun’s comment disappeared.

In the end, Zhang Cheng, who knewknew whole truth, happily ran to the duty room with his mobile phone and warned Shen Fangyu, “Jiang Xu is in a bad mood, and you’re in big trouble.”

At that time, Shen Fangyu had just returned from the operating room after an emergency surgery. He was surprised to hear Zhang Cheng’s words and asked, “What’s going on?”

“He’s scolding you on his Moments.”

“When did he start playing with WeChat Moments?” Shen Fangyu said as he opened his phone, only to find that Jiang Xu had liked his previous posts on the health hazards of staying up late, and he was unsure whether he should be happy or sad.

After reading Jiang Xu’s Moments, he quit the app with a slightly complicated expression. Then he saw the latest message from Jiang Xu to him: /Smirking_emoji.jpg.

Shen Fangyu felt his scalp tingle.

Ever since their relationship improved, Jiang Xu hadn’t sent him this emoji in a long time. Now that the smirking yellow emoji was back, he didn’t know whether it meant they were going to have a good time tonight or if something bad was going to happen. He felt a little nervous.

“Zhang Cheng,” he suddenly said, “let’s switch shifts, okay?”

Zhang Cheng, who didn’t mind watching the fun, was a bit dazed when he was pressed into the duty room. He didn’t know why he had agreed to Shen Fangyu’s request until he realized he had lost a wonderful night.

“Fuck!” Zhang Cheng cursed Shen Fangyu’s retreating figure. “Whoever snitches on you is a dog!”

—————–

Half an hour after the emoji was sent, the door bell to Jiang Xu’s house rang.

Jiang Xu, who was struggling to put on his socks on the sofa, suddenly looked up. When he met Shen Fangyu’s gaze, the just-regulated mood went out of control again.

“Don’t come near me,” he said to Shen Fangyu.

“You’re there, so I have to come,” Shen Fangyu sat next to him, lifted his legs and placed them on his lap, coaxing him, “Don’t be sad. Cheer up. I swapped shifts with Zhang Cheng, and I’ll be with you tonight, okay?”

Jiang Xu turned his face away and spoke in a cold voice, “I’m not sad.”

“Okay, you’re not sad,” he put Jiang Xu’s socks aside, “I’ll massage your feet, you can wear those later.” Jiang Xu looked at Shen Fangyu and then lowered his eyes.

His feet were originally beautiful, with distinct bones, slender and lean ankles. However, they were now so swollen that they looked like steamed buns.

Shen Fangyu’s eyelashes trembled. He looked at Jiang Xu’s expression, massaged it lightly for him, and reminded him in a low voice, “Say it if it’s too much pressure, don’t bear it.”

Jiang Xu remained silent and only made a muffled “mmm” after a while.

Recently, Jiang Xu had been feeling uncomfortable due to his pregnancy and couldn’t control his emotions influenced by hormones. He had said a lot of hurtful things to him and had many temper tantrums over trivial matters, to the point where he even had to write down rules even for which foot to step in first when entering the house.

However, after calming down, Jiang Xu would come and apologize to him.

To be honest, Shen Fangyu was really distressed.

Because he knew that Jiang Xu, with his proud and stubborn personality, was having an even harder time than him accepting the fact that he had become sensitive and emotional, which was so unlike his usual calm and rational self.

But no matter how harshly Jiang Xu spoke, the latter never blamed him for his drunken behavior that night, nor said that they shouldn’t have this child.

Jiang Xu watched as Shen Fangyu’s movements became slower and slower, and he felt inexplicably irritable.

He tried to suppress his emotions, but the pain made the unnamed fire in his heart burn more and more fiercely. Just when he was about to lose control, Shen Fangyu suddenly let go and hugged him.

So the flame went out before it could ignite.

Jiang Xu liked it very much when Shen Fangyu hugged him.

Especially in the late stages of pregnancy.

When he couldn’t sleep at night, when his body was in unbearable pain, when he couldn’t breathe because of the pressure from the baby kicking and punching inside him, Shen Fangyu would comfort him like this, and Jiang Xu’s heart would slowly calm down, as if he could become his normal self again.

Someone able to think and control his emotions.

But today’s Shen Fangyu seemed a little different.

He put Jiang Xu’s forehead against his chin, and after a while, Jiang Xu suddenly felt a little moistness on his forehead.

His heart skipped a beat, and he reached up to touch it, but Shen Fangyu stopped him.

Jiang Xu pulled back, wanting to see what was wrong, but Shen Fangyu used a little force to hug him.

“Don’t look,” Shen Fangyu’s voice was a little hoarse. “Let me maintain a manly image in your heart.”

“Why are you crying?” Jiang Xu asked.

“Who said I’m crying? I’m sweating,” Shen Fangyu said. “Just thinking about you being uncomfortable makes my heart ache and feel sore, it hurts so much.”

“You’re not pregnant, so why are you hurting?”

Even though he said that, Jiang Xu still lowered his eyes and gently placed his hand on Shen Fangyu’s heart, slowly massaging it for him.

He usually didn’t have the habit of confiding in others because most of the time, it was difficult for people to completely empathize with each other.

During difficult times, others can understand and comfort you, but they cannot truly experience your pain and discomfort.

Especially physical discomfort.

For mental discomfort, others may still be able to put themselves in your shoes, but physical discomfort was something that even oneself may forget after the wound has healed, so it was even harder for others to truly understand how much pain and discomfort you are currently feeling.

Apart from his parents, this was the first time someone had shed tears because he was in pain.

Jiang Xu pursed his lips and sighed softly after a while.

“Were you so naughty when you were a baby?” he said. “I suspect Xiaoxiao inherited that from you. I saw in my mother’s diary when she was pregnant with me that I was a well-behaved child and didn’t cause any trouble.”

Jiang Xu usually didn’t joke around much, but almost every time he wanted to lighten the mood, Shen Fangyu would cooperate and laugh, just like now…. Even though it was a bit hoarse from crying.

“It’s possible. If you weren’t naughty, then it must have been me. I’m to blame. I passed my bad habits to Xiaoxiao,” he smirked. “It’s okay, don’t worry. When she’s born, I’ll teach her well and make sure she doesn’t cause so much trouble.”

Jiang Xu clicked his tongue, but his mood had clearly improved because of his words.

Shen Fangyu held his hand and calmed down, whispering, “I’ll try and see if I can get a few more days off. At least I won’t have to work the night shift for now. I pushed all my courses at A Medical University to the next semester, freeing up more time for me to come home.”

“From now on, I’ll call you more often, or if you’re not feeling well, just call me directly, don’t hold it in.”

“Also,” Shen Fangyu said with a smile, “while you’re not in the hospital these past few days, I have good news to share with you that will make you happy.”

“Mmm?”

“Jihua is partnering with the government and developers to launch a batch of properties soon, and some of the hospital staff can get internal discounts as a fulfillment of the housing subsidies promised when we were recruited for our talent. I looked at it, the location is quite close to Jihua, the neighborhood is good, and the surrounding facilities are also quite nice.”

“Jiang Xu,” he suggested, “let’s buy a bigger house.”

People in Z-country have had a special attachment to houses since ancient times.

Buying a house meant taking root and settling down, just like birds building nests or swallows building homes, it symbolized stability and peace of mind.

After housing prices skyrocketed, buying a house became a lifelong dream for many young people.

Jiang Xu suddenly broke free from the embrace and looked at Shen Fangyu.

The latter’s face no longer showed signs of overflowing emotions, only the corners of his eyes were still slightly red.

He lowered his head to avoid Jiang Xu’s gaze, then hugged him again, his hand wrapping around his waist and resting on his abdomen as he continued to speak:

“Let’s buy a three-bedroom… or if we have enough money, a four-bedroom with two living rooms, where the master bedroom has a private bathroom. It will be just right when Xiaoxiao grows up a bit and needs some private space. We can also free up a guest room for your parents to stay occasionally.”

“This news is still a rumor at the moment, the documents and notices haven’t been fully released yet. It’s estimated that in a few months, the hospital will discuss this with us. By then, the child will be born, so we have to choose the floor and apartment layout carefully.”

“Zhong Lan said that she and her girlfriend also want to buy a house. I’m thinking of discussing with her whether we can buy apartments on the same floor or opposite each other. This way, if Xiaoxiao has any private girly concerns in the future and doesn’t want to tell us, she can go to her Aunt Zhong.”

“It just so happens that my house was sold, and I have a lot of money saved,” he said. “We can use it to pay the down payment first, and when the apartment is ready, we can decide whether to sell this one and repay the mortgage, or use it for rental income. We’ll talk about it then.”

“Hmm…” He thought for a while and added, “Let’s use your name for the housing provident fund loan, and I’ll be your guarantor.”

Only the property owner can apply for the housing provident fund loan, so if Shen Fangyu wants to apply for it, his name must be on the property ownership certificate.

So saying this was almost equivalent to him completely giving up on owning the property.

Jiang Xu had been listening quietly but when he heard this sentence, he suddenly sat up straight. “Are you trying to make me feel touched by being a scapegoat again?”

He and Shen Fangyu have no marital relationship in China. According to current laws, even if they both paid half of the money, the house ownership would have nothing to do with Shen Fangyu. If he run away, the bank would still go after Shen Fangyu, the guarantor, to pay the debt.

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to impress you,” Shen Fangyu said, placing his hand on Jiang Xu’s shoulder and massaging lightly.

“I just think that since we’re a family now, we don’t need to go to a lawyer to get a property certificate for a house we bought together. The procedures for joint purchase of a house are also troublesome. It’s better to focus our energy on raising our child.”

“When I pursued you, you had a lot of worries and thoughts. At that time, I wanted to give you as much security as possible, which is also my responsibility as your partner,” Shen Fangyu looked at Jiang Xu.

“The law cannot give us the protection we need, but I will do my best to provide it to you in my own way.”

“Besides, I trust you,” he peeled an orange for Jiang Xu, and jokingly teased, “I’m here, you won’t run away.”

The orange was peeled beautifully, with orange-colored petals of fruit skin spread out like a flower, and the yellow-orange pulp was separated into individual pieces in the middle.

Jiang Xu picked up a piece and stuffed it into Shen Fangyu’s mouth, solemnly saying, “Have you thought about it? If we break up, you’ll lose everything.”

The orange was very sweet, and the piece Jiang Xu handed over was even sweeter. Shen Fangyu reached out and smoothed the slight crease between Jiang Xu’s brows. “Of course I’ve thought about it,” he said. “But if we do break up, those things won’t mean much…I’ll be losing everything.”

“Shen Fangyu,” Jiang Xu said seriously, “I’ve never seen anyone with a serious case of love brain than you.”

Shen Fangyu’s eyes curved, and he leaned forward to gently kiss Jiang Xu’s forehead.

After a while, the sweet taste of the orange favored kiss slipped down to Jiang Xu’s lips.

“How have you never seen anyone like me?” When they separated, Shen Fangyu held onto the back of Jiang Xu’s neck and said, “Don’t I have one right in front of me?”