Chapter 3: Let’s Go! I’m Taking You to the Hospital!

He panted heavily, drenched in sweat. The snow on his hair had melted from the heat, clumping the strands together.

Lin Muyu stood frozen in place.

Who else could this be but Xie Zhao?

Hadn’t he left early this morning?

Given his usual personality, he wouldn’t return until midnight. It was only afternoon; why was he back so suddenly?

“Why are you back? Is something wrong?”

Lin Muyu asked softly, feeling bewildered.

Yet, even after she finished speaking, the man standing opposite her did not answer for a long time.

Xie Zhao just stood there, staring at her as his eyes slowly grew bloodshot.

The Lin Muyu before him wore a deep blue short padded jacket. Though faded from washing and worn out, it was clean. Her black trousers were a bit too small, ending a short distance above her ankles to reveal white cotton socks.

On her feet was a pair of hand-stitched cloth shoes. It had been snowing outside, so her soles were damp and coated with a layer of mud.

She had thick, slightly dry, yellowing hair tied into a braid that hung behind her. Beneath her wispy bangs, a pair of clear, almond-shaped eyes shone bright and resilient.

She was incredibly beautiful, with two shallow dimples when she smiled. But she was too thin, so thin it broke his heart, looking as if a gust of wind might blow her away.

Just like in his past life, when she had vanished into his countless dreams.

No matter how hard he cried out, she had never once looked back.

Xie Zhao took a deep breath.

As the cold air filled his lungs, he finally regained his senses. Looking at Lin Muyu in front of him, the smile at the corners of his mouth gradually widened.

Thank goodness.

She was still here, and the babies were too.

There was still time!

“I came back for you.”

Xie Zhao finally found his voice.

He took a few steps forward until he stood right in front of Lin Muyu, his gaze burning as he looked at her.

“Come with me. I’m taking you to the County Hospital!”

However, she froze. Her face turned pale, and she instinctively took a few steps back, clutching her belly as she stared at him fixedly.

“Xie Zhao, the babies are big now. They’re due in just a few days. You can’t… you can’t abort them now. How could you bear to…” Her voice trembled, her expression terrified as large tears rolled down her cheeks.

She knew Xie Zhao didn’t like these two children.

But they were going to be born in just a few days!

They were her own flesh and blood, and his too. How could he bear to do this?

Xie Zhao froze, finally understanding.

This was a massive misunderstanding!

“No, it’s not what you think!”

He quickly explained, “I’m taking you there to give birth, not to abort them! They’re my children too. How could I bear to do that?”

Lin Muyu stared at him hesitantly, her eyes still guarded, clearly not believing him.

Helpless, Xie Zhao continued to explain, “Twins always come early, and it’s much harder to deliver them than a single baby. Your health isn’t good. If there are complications during delivery, it’ll be too late to get to the county seat from our village!”

“For your sake and the babies’, I have to take you to the hospital!”

Lin Muyu looked down at her belly, finally wavering.

She knew the babies weren’t positioned correctly.

The village midwife had checked her and said one of them was breech, bottom-down, which might make the delivery difficult.

But the midwife hadn’t ruled it out completely, only saying there had been successful cases in the past.

These days, every household in the village had a midwife come to their home to deliver babies. Who would go to a hospital in the county seat?

Lin Muyu had never even considered it.

She stared blankly at Xie Zhao, not knowing how to react.

Meanwhile, Xie Zhao had already sprung into action.

“We’re going right now. We’ll just take some clothes, and I’ll come back for the rest tomorrow.”

As Xie Zhao spoke, he bent down and dragged a chest out from under the wooden bed.

It was the only piece of luggage he had brought with him when he was kicked out of the Chen Family. It contained a few changes of clothes, and most importantly, his last hundred-odd yuan hidden in a secret compartment.

Lin Muyu had very few clothes, only two changes in total.

He stuffed them haphazardly into the chest, then paused to think before going to fetch her some socks.

But when he looked, he froze again.

The socks in his hand were heavily patched, not a single pair intact. When he touched them, they were full of lumpy knots of thread that would definitely be uncomfortable to wear.

In his past life, Xie Zhao had dreamed of this day countless times.

He had suffered through the torment repeatedly, imagining what he would do if heaven ever gave him another chance.

Now that he had been reborn, he had already played out these scenarios in his mind countless times.

Phew!

He took a deep breath and turned to Lin Muyu, whose face had already flushed red. “You can’t get out of bed during postpartum recovery^[1], so your undergarments and socks must be comfortable. Throw these socks away. When we get to the county seat, I’ll buy you a couple of new pairs at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative^[2].”

Lin Muyu was stunned.

Buy her socks?

For her?

The apprehension and unease in her heart grew stronger. She looked at Xie Zhao and said softly, “But it’s twenty li^[3] from our village to the county seat, and I’m heavily pregnant…” Actually, she was still conflicted.

Aside from the fact that it was New Year’s Eve, the mere thought of going to the County Hospital to give birth filled her with an inexplicable dread.

They had no money, and she was unfamiliar with the place.

Her heart kept pounding, unable to find peace.

Xie Zhao had already finished packing. He snapped the chest shut and locked it.

Seeing her hesitation, he stood up, looked down at her intently, and said with firm sincerity, “I know you’re scared. But think of the babies. For their sake, we should go to the County Hospital to wait for the delivery. It’s better to be safe than sorry. We must take precautions so we don’t leave any room for regret. It’s also the best protection we can give our children. Don’t you think?”

Lin Muyu was finally swayed.

She looked down at her swollen belly and finally nodded in agreement.

She didn’t know what Xie Zhao was planning.

But she didn’t need to think twice to know which was safer: giving birth in the county seat or at home.

“But my belly…” Twenty li of mountain roads was something she couldn’t possibly walk.

“Don’t worry, I have a way.”

Xie Zhao let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

As he spoke, he jerked his chin, gesturing for Lin Muyu to look toward the yard.

There, a handcart sat quietly. Bedding had already been laid out on it, topped with a layer of tarpaulin to keep the snow from soaking the blankets.

Lin Muyu’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I passed by Mom and Dad’s yard on my way here and borrowed the handcart. Let’s head to the County Hospital to have the baby first. Mom will come over tomorrow to take care of you.”

As he spoke, he picked up the chest and set it on the handcart, then walked back over to Lin Muyu. “Shall we? Let’s head out now!”

Even as she lay on the handcart and they left Shishui Village, Lin Muyu still felt like she was dreaming.

The handcart moved slowly, but it was incredibly steady.

Xie Zhao was tall, and the rope of the handcart pulled taut against his shoulder, forming a sharp angle.

He had never been one for manual labor.

Having been raised by the Chen Family in his early years, he had been pampered like a precious treasure.