Chapter 746 - Zhang Leyan’s Birth (2)
The moment Li Meili entered the delivery room, Zhang Jiren had been nervous about her and Leyan. For someone who was famous for always being calm and collected, the people who knew Zhang Jiren would be surprised to see him in such state for the first time.
Every now and then, Zhang Jiren couldn't help but glance at the closed doors of the delivery room, waiting for someone to come out to update him and Tang Moyu, but there was none. Each time he heard Li Meili's painful screams inside the delivery room, his face would turn pale with worry.
Why did women have to suffer like that just to give birth? Hadn't the nine months of pregnancy been hard enough for them?
"Are you sure she would be alright? It's been over two hours now. Why isn't it done yet?" he asked Tang Moyu.
"Giving birth isn't that easy," Tang Moyu replied. "Some women can easily push their child out without difficulty, but most of the time, it's a struggle for women, especially for first time mothers like Meili."
Another two hours passed and Feng Tianyi came back to accompany them, bringing cups of hot coffee.
"Calm down, Zhang Jiren, and trust the doctors. Didn't you already give her the best medical care you can afford?" he told his brother-in-law.
Zhang Jiren could only press his lips and wait patiently outside, not daring to cause trouble. He didn't want the doctors to get distracted that may do harm towards mother and child.
Another hour later, Zhang Jiren felt that he was about to lose it, and was itching to go inside the delivery room to check on his wife's condition.
However, even before he could stand up from where he was seated, a sudden crying of an infant could be heard inside. The wailing was loud and powerful as if the child couldn't wait to announce to everyone that she had been born.
"Aiya, seems like Leyan is finally here." Feng Tianyi stood up together with his wife.
"At least Meili's labor isn't as long as Yaoyao's. We didn't need to wait until morning," Tang Moyu commented.
Zhang Jiren was the only one who had no opinion over the matter as he stared blankly at the door, as if in a daze.
Just as Feng Tianyi and Tang Moyu were about to go towards the door, a nurse came out, holding a newly cleaned and still crying baby girl.
"Congratulations, Mr. Zhang. It's a girl," she told Zhang Jiren with a wide smile.
"Can I see our niece?" Feng Tianyi tried to get a good look at Zhang Leyan, wondering whom she took after.
"Isn't she beautiful? She looks so cute and delicate," Tang Moyu remarked with a gentle smile gracing her cold features.
"Ah, but why is she still crying? Does she want to see her Mommy?" Feng Tianyi asked curiously. Zhang Leyan had been crying for some time now. Was she hungry? He wondered.
All of the sudden, Zhang Jiren snapped back in reality and stood up from where he was seated and went to see Leyan. The nurse gently placed the baby in his arms and Zhang Jiren thought that Leyan was the most beautiful baby he'd seen in his life.
There were few dark locks gracing her head and her slightly reddish skin looked so delicate under his touch. When he adjusted the cloth that was covering her, Leyan took hold of his finger and refused to release it. She also stopped crying and seemed really content being in Zhang Jiren's arms.
"She likes you." Feng Tianyi smiled when he noticed the look on his brother-in-law's face. There was no doubt that Li Meili's daughter had managed to win her step father's heart so easily.
"I like her too," Zhang Jiren replied with such gentleness in his eyes as he held Li Meili's daughter.
A few minutes later, he passed the sleeping infant to Tang Moyu who had no trouble holding her niece as she had enough experience tending to newborns. Zhang Jiren then went towards the delivery room where he found Li Meili still on the bed, covered in sweat and seemed to be in a daze. Her face was pale and her breathing, a little unstable. She looked so weak that it almost hurt Zhang Jiren to look at her like this.
He took her left hand and gave her a light squeeze.
"I'm here, Meili. Leyan is now with Tang Moyu."
When Li Meili heard his voice, she forced her eyes to keep open as she was starting to feel sleepy from exhaustion. When she saw the look he had on his face, she couldn't help but be moved by his kindness towards her and Leyan. Was he also nervous and worried about her and her daughter? What a good substitute husband he was.
Her lips slightly quivered and as she squeezed back his hand. She was so lucky to have a supportive friend like Zhang Jiren by her side.
"It's painful. I never thought it would be this painful." She felt like shit at the moment and no doubt she also looked horrible.
"I want to see Leyan. Can I?" she asked for her daughter. Zhang Jiren immediately went outside and retrieved his step daughter from his sister and went back to Li Meili to let her see and meet her daughter properly.
This was not the first time Li Meili was seeing her daughter, as the nurse showed her Leyan right after she came out. However, she was too exhausted earlier to take note of her features. She broke into a wide smile as her husband handed her the baby, her eyes shimmering with tears. Leyan was the proof of her and Tang Beixuan's love, and even though he wasn't here with them anymore, her heart was filled with love as she held their daughter in her arms.
In an instant, all the pain she'd gone through earlier were forgotten as all the trouble of giving birth to her daughter was worth it, with her Leyan in her arms.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m