I Became the Mother of His Child

"Mmm, delicious!" Xu Xiuxiu responded with a firm answer, and Song Yuanhuan seemed to sigh with relief.

After finally downing a bowl of hot fish soup, Xu Xiuxiu perked up a bit, but Song Yuanhuan, worried she hadn't had enough, turned to pour another bowl of fish soup. "No more, I won't drink it," she said. She had to start her confinement today, and though the duration of confinement in rural areas wasn't fixed, it was at least thirty to forty days. During this time, she would have more soups and broths than she could count, and she really didn't want to begin her first day dreading the thought of it.

"Okay!" Song Yuanhuan was now completely doting on Xu Xiuxiu as if she were another beloved daughter. If Xiuxiu said no, he would definitely not force a yes on her; his sole purpose was to cherish her and hold her dear. "Tomorrow I'll stew pork knuckle soup for you." Song Yuanhuan thought to himself. He had already consulted Mrs. Song about the dietary needs of a woman postpartum the night before, and now his only thought was to make things comfortable for his wife, determined not to let her feel wronged during her confinement.

"Mmm! Good!" Xu Xiuxiu continued to nod.

"Waah..." A weak cry sounded; the baby girl had woken up earlier than the boy, likely enticed awake by the aroma of fresh fish soup in the air.

"She's probably hungry." Xu Xiuxiu said with amusement, stretching out her hand to gently pick up the little one. She rocked and soothed her, but at the same time seemed a bit unsure of what to do. "Why don't you get the formula I prepared in the bag for the baby to drink?" she urged Song Yuanhuan, her voice anxious.

"Don't you want to let your baby girl try your breast milk?" Song Yuanhuan's gaze was intent as he stared at Xu Xiuxiu's bust which had grown several sizes during pregnancy. It would be best if the child could drink breast milk, and if the milk supply was not ample, he planned to have the girl drink breast milk and the boy formula.

"I don't think I have breast milk yet!" Xu Xiuxiu answered half-knowledgeably, her tone uncertain. Although she was indeed engorged, it couldn't be so soon, could it? Breast milk just hours after giving birth? As she thought this, she also blushed shyly and gave Song Yuanhuan a timid glare. Her gaze didn't carry much strength; on the contrary, it seemed rather flirtatious to Song Yuanhuan.

"We have to try anyway! Mom said the time when milk comes in varies from person to person; it's a matter of physique," Song Yuanhuan said with a hint of anticipation in his expression.

Thinking it over, Xu Xiuxiu nodded in agreement. After all, the baby was born, and nursing was an inevitability that couldn't be avoided. Better to start getting used to it. "Then turn your head away," Xu Xiuxiu said, intending for Song Yuanhuan to look elsewhere. She really didn't have the courage to lift her shirt and feed the child in front of Song Yuanhuan!

"Oh!" Song Yuanhuan said yes, but his deep gaze didn't plan to move away from Xu Xiuxiu; on the contrary, it sparkled even more brightly than before.

"Are you turning away or not?" Xu Xiuxiu said exasperatedly yet amusedly, glaring at him. This man was becoming more and more of a rogue.

"We are an old married couple, what's there to be shy about? I've seen it all before, touched and kissed it too. Just go ahead and feed the baby, don't mind me!" Song Yuanhuan played the rascal with blatant audacity.

Really, enough was enough!

Xu Xiuxiu glared at him, huffing with anger, then bit her lip and shyly turned her body slightly to shield herself as she lifted her shirt to begin feeding the little girl, unaware that the side view provided an even more captivating scene that made Song Yuanhuan's throat bob up and down several times.

Infants are born with the natural ability to feed, and the little girl latched on and began sucking instinctively; however, after a few minutes, there was still no reaction. Despite her vigorous sucking, she couldn't get the food she wanted, and ultimately, the little girl let go and started to whimper in protest, though the sound was incredibly faint.

Song Yuanhuan's eyes shone as he watched Xu Xiuxiu's fullness and the little girl's futile sucking. Eventually, he put aside his thoughts, feeling sorry for the little girl, and turned to search through the luggage. With a reminder from Xu Xiuxiu, he found the baby formula that Xu Xiuxiu had packed separately and hurried out of the room.

Having experience with Song Chengguang, Song Yuanhuan was quite familiar with preparing baby formula, even more so than Xu Xiuxiu. It wasn't long before Song Yuanhuan came back with the prepared formula.

"I used cold water to cool it down, but I have a high tolerance for heat so I'm afraid it might still be too hot. You should try the temperature again; we don't want to burn our little Song Baobei!" said Song Yuanhuan, doubting his own thick skin, and he passed the bottle to Xu Xiuxiu with another reminder, showing his detailed care by shedding his usual roughness for the sake of his little girl.

Had it been their mischievous son, he wouldn't have harbored so many worries.

Xu Xiuxiu took the bottle and tested the temperature, finding it just right. She began to feed the little girl, who, despite looking frail, had a good appetite. She gulped down more than half the bottle until finally, she seemed content and relaxed back into a deep sleep, never once opening her eyes throughout the feeding.

Perhaps due to telepathy common among twins or boy and girl twins, as the little girl was sated and sleeping, the little boy, who was also slumbering, woke up. With his eyes still closed, he opened his mouth in protest. Seeing that there was still quite a bit of formula left in the bottle, Xu Xiuxiu gently placed the sleepy and full girl to the side and picked up her son to start feeding him.

"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. I was thinking of taking Er Ye to register the kids' births today. I'm not at ease leaving the household registration for another day, and we can also get the revolutionary martyrs' birth permits sorted out," Song Yuanhuan said. Although he wanted to stay with Xu Xiuxiu at home, he planned to head to the county first to deal with the registration and also look for some old hens to buy and bring back for later.

"Okay!" Xu Xiuxiu naturally agreed.

Putting off many things for a day can lead to uncertainty; if they could get the children's registration sorted out quickly, they would also breathe easier, avoiding the worry of any last-minute complications that could cause unnecessary heartache.

"If you need anything, just call Yuanyao outside. She should be helping out at home in the next few days, looking after Chengguang while you're in confinement. If you need anything while I'm gone, just call out to her, and as for Chengguang, I'll talk to him. He can't be bothering you," Yuanhuan said, worried that Xiuxiu would feel anxious on her own, he gave her another instruction.

And then there was Song Chengguang, just at the age of a rambunctious child, sticking close to Xu Xiuxiu and likely to cause a stir, so Song Yuanhuan turned the conversation towards his eldest son.

"Hmm! Don't worry, just go," she reassured him. It wasn't like he was leaving for ten days or a half-month; it was just an afternoon trip to the county. She could endure any inconvenience: "Besides, our Chengguang is very well-behaved. He will surely be gentle with his brother and sister and won't favor girls over boys like you do," Xu Xiuxiu said, her tone carrying a hint of reproach as she hummed.