DASB Ch26

Ye Xi lay on his side in the hospital bed, playing with Huo Rulan’s fingers—pinching them here and scratching there. Huo Rulan was so tickled he didn’t even have the strength to be mad.

 

A middle-aged nurse walked in with an IV tray. Huo Rulan sat up with Ye Xi in his arms, and Ye Xi obediently sat up and stretched out his left hand for the IV.

 

He looked so well-behaved that the nurse smiled kindly and said, “It’s not time for the IV yet.”

 

Ye Xi blinked in confusion and glanced at Huo Rulan. Then he turned to the nurse, just about to ask, when he saw her take out a syringe and begin adding medicine to it.

 

A chill ran down Ye Xi’s spine. He instinctively leaned back into Huo Rulan’s arms, clutching his clothes tightly, eyes locked on the syringe in the nurse’s hand.

 

The nurse held up an alcohol-soaked cotton swab and the syringe, smiling kindly, “All right, here we go. This is a butt injection.”

 

Huo Rulan held Ye Xi to calm him and asked the nurse, “What’s this?”

 

“A progesterone shot. Dr. Liu instructed us to add this one today. He said to have you come speak with him afterward.”

 

Huo Rulan nodded thoughtfully. He tightened his hold on Ye Xi to stop him from squirming. Ye Xi was trembling so badly that Huo Rulan had to hold both his legs and arms to steady him.

 

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Just one shot—like a little ant bite. It doesn’t hurt,” Huo Rulan coaxed gently with one arm around Ye Xi’s shoulders while pulling down his pants a bit with the other.

 

Ye Xi shrank into Huo Rulan’s chest with his eyes shut tight, his eyelashes trembling violently—his face was that of someone ready to sacrifice himself for a noble cause.

 

The nurse couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s really nothing, just a little sting like an ant bite.”

 

Of course, logic doesn’t stop a body’s reflexes. The moment the cool cotton touched his skin, Ye Xi flinched hard. Huo Rulan was startled too and nearly lost hold of him.

 

Startled, Huo Rulan hugged him tighter, speaking softly to soothe him: “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’ll be over very soon, and it doesn’t hurt at all.”

 

Despite his words, Ye Xi’s body remained tense. While he was still bracing himself, the nurse had already finished the injection swiftly.

 

“Ugh!” Ye Xi let out a muffled grunt and shivered again.

 

Thankfully, Huo Rulan was holding him tightly, so it wasn’t too bad this time.

 

Once the shot was done, Ye Xi went limp like a wilted cabbage.

 

When the nurse finished setting up the IV and left, Ye Xi lay on his side with his back to Huo Rulan, not moving a muscle.

 

Knowing the injection site was sore, Huo Rulan quietly moved a chair to the other side of the bed to sit with him.

 

Afraid Ye Xi might be secretly crying, he even tore off two tissues just in case.

 

He carefully dabbed the corner of Ye Xi’s eyes with a tissue and then held it up to check for tears. Suspicious, he leaned in close to examine Ye Xi’s eyes.

 

Ye Xi looked at him in confusion and leaned over to kiss the corner of Huo Rulan’s lips. “What are you doing?”

 

Huo Rulan blinked and asked curiously, “You didn’t cry this time?”

 

Ye Xi chuckled through his nose. “Hmph, stupid Huo Rulan, I’m not crying. It didn’t even hurt. Crying over an injection is kinda embarrassing…”

 

That was probably the real reason.

 

Huo Rulan chuckled softly, reaching to feel Ye Xi’s IV hand. Thankfully, it wasn’t cold. Still, he held Ye Xi’s hand in his palm to warm it—cold hands make IVs uncomfortable.

 

He tucked the blanket around Ye Xi and gently patted his back, soothing him to sleep with a warm voice, “You got up early today. Sleep a little more.”

 

Ye Xi stared at Huo Rulan in front of him. His eyelids gradually grew heavier, blinking slower and slower until they finally shut as he drifted off.

 

Once he was sure Ye Xi was asleep, Huo Rulan tucked the blanket in carefully, kissed his forehead, and left the room.

 

He instructed the bodyguards to guard the door, then turned and went to Dr. Liu’s office.

 

When Huo Rulan arrived, Dr. Liu pulled out Ye Xi’s medical record and sat down to talk with him.

 

“I didn’t say the rest earlier because Mr. Ye was there.”

 

Huo Rulan’s heart sank. He pressed his lips tightly together, his Adam’s apple moving stiffly as he clenched his fists unconsciously.

 

He closed his eyes briefly and said hoarsely, “Please go on.”

 

“I prescribed him a progesterone shot—you probably know that already.”

 

“Five months is a critical point. After this, the babies will grow rapidly, and Mr. Ye’s belly will begin to expand. His current physical condition can’t handle the pressure of twins, so I gave him the injection…”

 

“While it’s still early, you must help him recover his depleted health.”

 

Huo Rulan opened his mouth, about to ask something, but Dr. Liu shook his head and continued:

 

“Don’t be fooled just because he seems to eat, drink, sleep, jump around like he’s fine. His insides are weak. Do you understand?”

 

“I also heard about what happened before. The babies are strong and active, but Mr. Ye’s body is genuinely in poor shape. He’s always had a weak constitution, and now he’s pregnant. Plus, there was that previous miscarriage…”

 

Dr. Liu sighed helplessly. “It’s still early, so nothing serious is showing yet. But as the pregnancy progresses, it’ll become a problem. Based on his current condition, there’s a high risk of premature birth.”

 

“And summer is approaching—spring and summer transitions are dangerous. Even a minor cold could be life-threatening for him. You need to be extra cautious. It’s hot here, but don’t start using air conditioning too early.”

 

Dr. Liu looked at the man in front of him, whose face was obscured by his lowered head. “Around the eighth month, bring him in for hospitalization in advance. Get everything ready ahead of time.”

 

Huo Rulan wiped his face with both hands, his eyes red. He stood up and thanked the doctor before leaving.

 

Just then, a young nurse was pushing a small cart and humming a tune as she passed the stairwell. She suddenly paused, tilted her head to listen, and turned her gaze toward the half-open stairwell door.

 

From behind the door, the low sound of a man choking back sobs came through—faint, but the young nurse could still make out something like: “I won’t have another… never again after this one…”

 

***

 

By the time Huo Rulan returned, Ye Xi was already awake, leaning against the bed, lost in thought. As soon as he noticed Huo Rulan, he started to smile,then paused.

 

“What happened to your hair? Why does it look like a bird’s nest? Even messier than when I scratch it.”

 

As Huo Rulan came closer, Ye Xi looked into his eyes. “Why are your eyes so red? Your eyelids are swollen too.”

 

“Did you cry? Did the doctor say something bad about the three of us?”

 

Huo Rulan quickly covered Ye Xi’s mouth, not letting him say anything upsetting. His eyes stung as he cupped Ye Xi’s face and kissed him.

 

“Don’t say things like that. We’re doing fine. The babies are fine. You’re fine too.” Huo Rulan hugged him and pressed his face against Ye Xi’s hair, closing his eyes.

 

“We’re all fine. Don’t talk nonsense. It’ll just make me sad… and I’ll cry right in front of you.”

 

Ye Xi laughed, hugging Huo Rulan’s shoulders tightly. “Okay, okay, I won’t say it anymore. Don’t cry.”

 

Huo Rulan steadied his emotions, let go, and said, “The doctor and I talked about the next checkup. He also mentioned the babies.”

 

“He said they’re little and chubby, super cute. I was just too happy… and couldn’t help crying in the office.”

 

Ye Xi thought about it for a while, then chose to believe Huo Rulan. First, because Huo Rulan had never lied to him where he went, who he met, he never kept secrets. Second, because Ye Xi felt well enough to eat and drink, and the babies checked out healthy too, surely nothing too bad happened to make Huo Rulan this sad.

 

“Then let me see just how chubby the babies are. Enough to make our big dad cry tears of joy.”

 

Ye Xi leaned over to rummage through the bag for the ultrasound printout.

 

Huo Rulan ruffled his messy hair and quickly stopped Ye Xi from moving too much to avoid backflow from his IV hand. He retrieved the ultrasound himself.

 

Ye Xi had only skimmed the ultrasound earlier since they had to go for another test. Now, taking a closer look, he grew excited, pointing at the two fuzzy shapes.

 

“Monochorionic monoamniotic identical twins,” Ye Xi said with a smile, touching the ultrasound image. “Two identical little babies—so cute.”

 

“But… I don’t see what’s chubby about them.” Ye Xi held the image closer, staring at it for a while and still seeing nothing fat about the shapes.

 

Huo Rulan sat beside him, arm around his shoulder, and pointed at the two blurry black spots. “There’s a little chubbiness—look, the one on the left is clearly just a bit chubbier than the one on the right.”

 

Ye Xi froze. He then raised his hand to cover Huo Rulan’s mouth and said dramatically, “Alright, stop calling the babies chubby, they’ll get upset.”

 

He pulled Huo Rulan’s hand to rest on his rounded belly. Just then, there was a soft little bump from underneath.

 

Huo Rulan’s eyes widened. Ye Xi blinked and smiled, “The baby heard you say it and kicked me.”

 

Even though it was probably just a coincidence, Huo Rulan couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear. His eyes were hot and misty as he leaned down to listen to the belly, but there was no further movement.

 

He kissed the babies and looked up at Ye Xi with a teasing tone, “Maybe it was the one on the left.”

 

Ye Xi laughed too, rubbing his belly. “Could be. We did just say they were fatter.”

 

Huo Rulan laughed for a long while, then leaned in sneakily to whisper in Ye Xi’s ear, “Well… it’s true, isn’t it?”

 

Ye Xi shot him a mock glare and rubbed his belly again, eyes twinkling with laughter.

 

***

 

Ye Xi’s IV was slow, so lunch was eaten at the hospital.

 

Huo Rulan specially had nourishing soup delivered and coaxed Ye Xi into drinking a whole bowl.

 

After the meal, Ye Xi lay in bed rubbing his stomach and hiccuping nonstop. Huo Rulan sat beside him, dutifully massaging his belly.

 

They finished the drip around 1 p.m., and Huo Rulan carried all their bags and brought Ye Xi home.

 

The assistant had already prepared the pillow-making materials and placed them in the living room. After a nap, Ye Xi sat cross-legged on the carpet, watching a tutorial while clumsily measuring fabric with a ruler.

 

Huo Rulan sat beside him, legs crossed, quietly watching as Ye Xi meticulously measured back and forth across the pillow fabric, determined to get the most accurate length to make the best pillows for the babies.

 

After measuring, Ye Xi picked up scissors to cut the fabric into shape—but the more he cut, the more crooked it became. He’d measure again, cut again, then still end up crooked. The pillow fabric kept shrinking.

 

Huo Rulan watched with shaking shoulders and accidentally let out a chuckle.

 

Ye Xi turned his head and glared. Huo Rulan immediately erased his smile and looked back with gentle, innocent eyes.

 

Ye Xi studied his face for a while. Huo Rulan nearly broke again.

 

Ye Xi scooted aside. “Why don’t you try? I can’t cut it right.”

 

Huo Rulan leaned closer with a smirk and lazily said, “Then kiss me first.”

 

Ye Xi pouted and gave him a kiss. Huo Rulan flexed his wrist, picked up the scissors, and cocked his chin. “Prepare to witness your husband’s skills.”

 

Ten minutes later, Ye Xi expressionlessly tossed

the oddly-shaped fabric onto the sofa.

 

He cupped Huo Rulan’s face, gave him a kiss on the lips, then let go and pointed at the sofa.

 

“That kiss was your fee. Now get out.”

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T/N: Story time! If you know me and the books I tl before, one of the reasons why I quit is because people were constantly hating on my tl. Ofc there were nice people too, but that made me want to just not do it. Thank you if you still want to read my tl and do note this book would be updated daily. If you want to correct me pls be polite or nice.