CH 104

Shen Tiantian had a natural delivery and was discharged from the hospital after a week. The little one wasn’t yet accustomed to the outside world and spent most of the time either crying or sleeping. As new moms, the two of them were incredibly busy. Shen Tiantian’s body hadn’t fully recovered from childbirth, so she took care of the baby during the day, while Shan Yi looked after their daughter at night, barely having any time to rest.

After two weeks, the baby started to look less red and more like herself, unlike the fireball she resembled when first born. Shen Tiantian began producing milk, causing her discomfort from engorgement. Although Shan Yi didn’t like her territory being occupied, she couldn’t bear to see her wife and daughter in pain.

The baby was delighted to be breastfed, gripping her mother’s clothes tightly and sucking her food with vigor. Shan Yi watched, feeling a mixture of emotions as she looked at the tiny person nestled at her wife’s chest. Their daughter seemed to bring them even more happiness.

Once their daughter fell asleep, Shan Yi climbed into bed and gave Shen Tiantian a domineering kiss on her lips. “You seem to have given birth to quite the little troublemaker.”

Shen Tiantian laughed softly and hugged Shan Yi around the waist. “Are you jealous of our daughter?”

Shan Yi didn’t say anything, silently admitting it.

Shen Tiantian found it amusing, “Isn’t that silly?”

Shan Yi sighed, “She’s my daughter, and I’ll raise her no matter what.”

Shen Tiantian looked at her intently, “Are you serious?”

“I’m kidding.” Knowing how much her wife had suffered to give birth to their little tyrant, Shan Yi couldn’t help but care deeply. “I love you, wife.”

Shen Tiantian replied, “And our daughter?”

“Her too.”

“That sounds so dismissive,” Shen Tiantian pouted. “Do you know how much I suffered for her? Now that she’s finally here, you actually dislike her?” She started to cry for real.

Shan Yi immediately panicked, feeling deeply sorry and quickly hugged her to comfort her.

After giving birth, Shen Tiantian seemed to cry more easily. Shan Yue mentioned that it might be a sign of postpartum depression and advised Shan Yi to pay close attention. Guilt flashed in Shan Yi’s eyes as she kept kissing Shen Tiantian’s head and apologizing.

Shan Yi’s comforting was effective; Shen Tiantian shed only a few tears before stopping. “I’m tired.”

They hadn’t had much rest due to the baby’s demands. Shan Yi, exhausted herself, gently said, “I’ll nap with you.”

Shen Tiantian softly agreed, nestling her face into Shan Yi’s neck. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked, “Do you find it really hard?”

“Hmm?” Shan Yi was confused.

Shen Tiantian sighed dejectedly, “Taking care of the baby and me, isn’t it tough?”

“How could it be?” Shan Yi was surprised. “Why would you think that?”

Shen Tiantian took a deep breath, “I’ve noticed. You’ve lost weight recently.” In contrast, she had just given birth, her belly was still a bit flabby, her face still round, and she spent her days lying in bed, being waited on hand and foot. Everything fell on Shan Yi’s shoulders, and she wasn’t even going to the office. When she thought about it, it seemed unfair to her.

Shan Yi pulled back a little, cupping Shen Tiantian’s face and making her look into her eyes. She said seriously, “Don’t overthink it. Our daughter is ours, and you’ve done more than enough by carrying her. Now that she’s born, it’s naturally my turn to take over. Besides, you’re still in your postpartum period; you just need to focus on recovering.”

Shen Tiantian lowered her eyes and then buried herself in Shan Yi’s arms again. “Okay, I understand.”

“Be good, go to sleep, and don’t let your mind wander.”

Shen Tiantian nodded gently. “It’s almost the New Year.”

Shan Yi smiled slightly. “Yes, by then the baby will be almost a month old.”

“This is our first New Year together.”

“Yes, how do you want to celebrate?”

“I think…” Shen Tiantian’s voice trailed off, becoming fuzzy.

Shan Yi waited and waited but didn’t hear Shen Tiantian continue. She looked down and found that Shen Tiantian had already fallen asleep in her arms. She couldn’t help but smile wryly, kissed her on the forehead, and closed her eyes to sleep as well.

A baby’s cry woke Shan Yi up abruptly, and she reflexively sat up in bed. Shen Tiantian was still deeply asleep but was disturbed by their daughter’s cries. As Shen Tiantian started to get out of bed, Shan Yi held her back. “You sleep, I’ll handle this.”

Shen Tiantian nodded drowsily and lay back down, but she couldn’t fall back asleep because of the crying. She looked towards the baby’s crib. By then, Shan Yi had already picked up the baby, checked her, and changed her diaper.

The baby’s cries finally subsided somewhat, but she continued to sniffle, clutching tightly at Shan Yi’s nightgown.

Shan Yi paced the room a few times until the baby finally fell asleep again. She gently placed her back in the crib and returned to their bed. Seeing that Shen Tiantian was still awake, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “Was Hanhan too noisy?”

Shen Tiantian replied, “That’s one part of it. There’s another reason.”

“What is it?”

Shen Tiantian sweetly said, “Because you look so beautiful when you’re taking care of the baby.”

Shan Yi: “Really? Do you love me a little more now?”

Shen Tiantian nodded. “Yes, I love you a little more today.”

“Alright, let’s go to sleep. The little one might wake up again, and we won’t get any rest.”

“Okay, good night.”

Shan Yi responded to her good night with a kiss.

In the middle of the night, the little one woke up twice more. After finally coaxing the baby back to sleep, Shan Yi was exhausted. As the sky outside began to lighten, she fell back into a deep sleep.

Shen Tiantian woke up around nine and opened her eyes to see her wife’s face up close. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Shan Yi’s sleeping face so peacefully. As she observed her closely and saw the dark circles under her eyes, Shen Tiantian felt a pang of heartache. Just a few months ago, Shan Yi had been a spirited executive, but now, for her and their daughter, she had become so worn out.

She placed a gentle kiss on Shan Yi’s eye bags. Just as she was about to continue gazing at her wife, a baby’s cry interrupted her thoughts. Shen Tiantian quickly got out of bed and walked over to pick up the baby.

Worried about waking her wife, she carried the baby out of the room quietly and gently closed the door behind her.

Mother Shan had already heard her granddaughter’s cries from downstairs and was at the foot of the stairs. “What’s wrong with Hanhan?”

“She’s hungry.” Shen Tiantian checked the diaper, which was still dry. Shan Yi must have changed it not long ago. She smiled helplessly and said, “I’ll take her to the guest room to feed her. Yiyi is still sleeping; I don’t want to wake her.”

Mother Shan nodded. “Alright, once you’ve fed her, bring her to me. You should get some rest too.”

Shen Tiantian felt a warmth in her heart. “Got it.”

Before she even reached the guest room, the baby had already smelled the milk and started nuzzling against her chest through her clothes.

Gently stroking her daughter’s back, she felt a slight pain from the sucking, but as soon as she saw the baby’s fair little face, her frown relaxed. She lightly poked the baby with her finger, a happy smile spreading across her lips. This was her daughter, the child she had given birth to.

Little Hanhan had quite an appetite and always drank all the milk.

Maybe because she had slept a lot, the little one wasn’t sleepy after eating, and she stared at Shen Tiantian with her round eyes. She waved her short, chubby hands and suddenly started sucking on her fingers, giving a faint smile.

Did the baby just smile? Shen Tiantian felt a bit excited.

Her daughter looked just like Shan Yi. Over the past month, she hadn’t shown many expressions. If she hadn’t read online that newborns don’t have expressions initially, she would have thought her daughter’s personality was as reserved as Shan Yi’s.

Though it was nice for her daughter to resemble Shan Yi, she felt a bit reluctant. After all, she had given birth to this child. It was one thing for the baby not to look like her, but if she also had a personality that differed from hers, it would be a bit disheartening.

Unable to contain her excitement, she rubbed her face against the baby’s cheek and quickly walked out of the guest room. Seeing Mother Shan approaching, she said, “Mom, Hanhan just smiled.”

“Really?” Mother Shan’s eyes widened with surprise, and she hurried over to take a look. The little one, very cooperatively, smiled again. Mother Shan quickly said, “Let me hold her.”

Shen Tiantian laughed, carefully handing the baby over to Mother Shan. After playing with her for a while and seeing that the baby wasn’t going to cry, she said, “I’ll head back to the room now.”

“Don’t forget to have breakfast first.”

“I know, I’ll go wash up first.”

“Hurry up. After breakfast, get some rest. You’ll have your hands full tonight.” Mother Shan urged.

Mother Shan had considered hiring a nanny, but after seeing news about child abuse on TV, she was too scared to bring it up again. She preferred to handle things herself, believing that the child’s rapid growth meant things would get easier soon.

With staff from the postpartum care center visiting daily to prepare the baby’s food and leaving at six in the evening, Mother Shan found it manageable. The baby was quite attached to her mother, and since Shan Yi’s parents were getting older and found it hard to get up at night, the baby slept in Shan Yi’s room at night and was taken care of by the postpartum center during the day.

As the New Year approached, Mother Shan focused all her attention on the baby, leaving the New Year’s preparations to Aunt Zhang.

Both Shan Xu and Father Shan became busier at the year’s end. Meanwhile, Shan Yue moved in with Tian Jing, who refused to stay at the Shan’s house, to take care of her daughter and the expectant mother. The house was usually quiet during the day, except for occasional visits from Liu Wanjun and her child. However, when Hanhan cried, she often scared Liu Wanjun’s daughter into crying too…

Back in the room, Shen Tiantian found Shan Yi waking up groggily. “Where’s Hanhan?”

“Did she wake you up?”

Shan Yi smiled and shook her head, beckoning her over. “No.”

Shen Tiantian snuggled against her, feeling her warmth through the blanket. “Then why are you awake so early?”

Shan Yi asked, “What time is it?”

Lately, Shan Yi’s sleep had been restless, waking up frequently to check on their daughter, her nerves constantly on edge.

“It’s almost ten,” Shen Tiantian replied, glancing at her phone screen. “Mom is with the baby now. Go back to sleep.”

Shan Yi extended her arm from under the blanket to embrace her. “Will you stay with me?”

Shen Tiantian laughed, “Yes, mom told me to come back and rest.”

She hadn’t even washed up yet, and feeling uncomfortable, she instinctively avoided Shan Yi’s kiss. “Mom said we should have breakfast before going back to sleep. Since you’re awake, let’s get up and wash up. We’ll do it together.”

Shan Yi groaned in pain. Waking up several times a night, she rarely had a moment to relax and didn’t want to get up. But thinking about her hungry wife, she reluctantly got out of bed.

“Oh, by the way, Hanhan smiled just now,” Shen Tiantian shared her daughter’s joy, her voice brimming with pride.

“It’s about time for her to start showing expressions.” The baby was almost a month old. Shan Yi knew Shen Tiantian would start worrying if there were no expressions soon, and it was clear how much Shen Tiantian cared about the little one.

Their precious daughter indeed.