Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next day, Jiang Chen couldn’t pick up Ling Sheng. He was awakened by a phone call at five in the morning, saying that his sister-in-law at home suddenly went into labor, and the baby might arrive four weeks early. His brother had to go to the delivery room, so he asked him to hurry back to help his brother deal with other matters.

Jiang Chen changed his clothes and rushed downstairs, only managing to send a message to Ling Sheng explaining the situation.

When he arrived at the hospital, his sister-in-law was being supported by the nanny and Jiang Jian, walking back and forth in the corridor. His mother and father were also following behind them, looking extremely nervous. They said her water had broken, but she was only dilated one finger, not even enough for an epidural.

Jiang Chen looked at the time, it was only 6:30. Seeing his sister-in-law in so much pain that she could barely move, he felt a bit helpless, but he still calmly asked, “What did the doctor say?”

His brother had completely lost his usual calm and composed demeanor, staring at his wife, sweat on his forehead: “She insists on a natural birth. The doctor said she needs to be dilated to three fingers before she can get an epidural, but she’s only at one now. Walking around might speed things up.”

They had arranged the hospital and doctor long ago, but today her water suddenly broke, and the baby was coming early. There wasn’t even a private room available, they were urgently trying to arrange one, so they could only support her and walk around, hoping she would dilate to three fingers as soon as possible.

Finally, at eight o’clock, she reached three fingers, and a private room was arranged. They immediately administered an epidural. Seeing the woman on the labor bed finally relax, Jiang Jian finally had the energy to talk to Jiang Chen about other things.

“My maternity leave has to start early, but there are still some things scheduled during the National Day holiday. I’ve pushed back what I could, but you and Dad will have to go to the ones I couldn’t.”

Festivals are always a time for greetings and farewells. The Jiang family has a special status in Jiang City. Usually, Jiang’s father and Jiang Jian take care of these matters. Jiang Chen is still a student after all, and with Jiang Jian taking the lead, he has fewer responsibilities.

He certainly couldn’t abandon family matters at this time, so he had to agree.

He took out his phone to send a message to Ling Sheng and saw that Ling Sheng was already awake, having replied to his message five minutes ago.

Ling Sheng: [The date can be rescheduled. Take good care of your family.]

Jiang Chen smiled, his lips pursed, feeling a little better in his heart. He replied with an “okay.”

He first went to the postpartum care center they had already visited and changed the dates, then brought the pre-selected nanny back to the hospital for convenience. Jiang Jian and Jiang’s mother stayed at the hospital with the nanny, while Jiang Chen sent his father, who was older and had high blood pressure, home to rest in the afternoon, having been busy all day.

It wasn’t until ten o’clock at night that a red, wrinkled baby was finally brought out. It was a boy, his eyes closed, clutching his small fists in a small blanket.

“Congratulations, six pounds and four ounces, it’s a boy.”

“Youyou~” Jiang Jian carefully held the baby, tears in his eyes, and quickly asked the nurse, “Where’s the mother? When will the mother come out?”

The nurse smiled and said, “She’ll be out soon. The mother’s in great condition, so don’t worry.”

After they settled everything, Jiang Chen finally had time to take a closer look at his little nephew. The baby was wearing a yellow little outfit, his hands and feet curled up. He had just been fed and was sleeping soundly. He couldn’t help but take a photo with his phone and send it to Ling Sheng.

JC: [Picture]

JC: [He’s so small.]

After sending it, he realized it was already twelve o’clock. He wondered if Ling Sheng was asleep.

But Ling Sheng replied quickly.

Ling Sheng: [Very cute, boy or girl?]

JC: [Boy. Actually, my brother wanted a girl, but a boy is good too.]

Ling Sheng: [Did you pick a nickname?]

JC: [We call him Youyou. If it was a girl, we’d call her Shuangshuang.]

Ling Sheng: [Haha, talented. What about you? Do you have a nickname?]

JC: [No, I don’t have a nickname.]

Ling Sheng looked at the quickly replied message, a smile on his lips.

A double negative equals a positive.

Ling Sheng: [I see. I was hoping to exchange nicknames with you.]

Jiang Chen was immediately piqued with curiosity. They knew so little about each other, and he wanted to learn more about Ling Sheng. After thinking for a long time, he sent a message: [My family calls me Chenchen.]

Ling Sheng sat there laughing, finding it so cute, but before he could reply, another message came from Jiang Chen: [My brother’s calling me. Talk later.]

Before he could reply, another message came: [It’s late, get some rest. Talk tomorrow.]

Then another: [Good night.]

Apart from the initial rush, the nanny and postpartum caretaker mainly took care of the baby after he was born safely. Jiang Jian stayed at the hospital, while Jiang Chen took Jiang’s mother back home.

But from the next day, more and more people came to offer congratulations. The hospital didn’t allow them in, and naturally, the postpartum care center wouldn’t allow visitors to disturb the mother and child, so everyone could only come to the house.

Jiang Chen accompanied his father in greeting the visitors, barely having time to look at his phone. He only secretly sent messages to Ling Sheng when he went to the bathroom.

The seven-day holiday passed by in a flash for four days. On the evening of the fifth day, Jiang Chen couldn’t resist anymore and sent a message to Ling Sheng while lying in bed.

JC: [What did you do today?]

Ling Sheng had been driving around Jiang City for the past few days. Seven years had passed, and Jiang City had changed a lot. Looking at it now, he had a different feeling.

Ling Sheng: [Looked around.]

JC: [We agreed that I would accompany you.]

Ling Sheng: [There will be opportunities later.]

JC: [You went out and didn’t take any photos?]

He missed him so much. This holiday felt longer than every National Day holiday in his twenty-one years. He spent his days with his father, drinking tea and chatting with visitors. Out of politeness, he couldn’t check his phone or leave without permission. Moreover, his father was right, if he wanted to be a lawyer and have his own law firm in the future, he would inevitably have to interact with these people.

He knew very well what to do and had always done it well. Outsiders always praised Jiang’s father for having two calm and reliable sons, the most promising of the Jiang family’s generation.

But doing what he was used to made him feel anxious and annoyed these past few days.

He really wanted to see Ling Sheng. He had never missed someone this much before.

Looking at the WeChat chat box, he wondered how to ask him to send a photo when a video call popped up.

Jiang Chen answered it by accident and with a bit of panic.

After answering, he saw the face he had been thinking about day and night.

Ling Sheng was leaning against the headboard, with only the bedside lamp on. He wasn’t wearing glasses, and his hair, freshly washed, hung softly on his forehead, covering his eyebrows, making him look several years younger than usual. He was wearing a dark blue silk pajama, the collar revealing his fair neck and part of his collarbone, looking a bit lazy.

Those eyes that Jiang Chen loved the most still held a faint smile, almost looking like they were tempting him under the warm light.

“Busy?”

Jiang Chen hummed in agreement, staring at him without blinking.

He was holding the phone close, so the phone screen only showed one face, but even from this angle, his features were very handsome.

“I didn’t give you a video call these days because I saw you were busy,” Ling Sheng said with a smile, “Did you miss me?”

Yes.

Very much.

Jiang Chen wasn’t used to expressing himself so directly and hummed in agreement, pursing his lips.

So well-behaved.

Looking at the messy hair on his forehead, Ling Sheng wanted to touch his head. He couldn’t touch it, but just looking at it made him happy. He said, “Move the phone further away, let me take a good look.”

Jiang Chen obediently moved the phone a little further away. Afraid that he wouldn’t be able to see clearly, he turned on the other bedside lamp and held up his phone, saying, “Can you see clearly now?”

Jiang Chen was only wearing a vest today. When he moved the phone away, his broad shoulders and half of his pectoral muscles could be seen.

What a beautiful scenery.

Ling Sheng laughed, “Isn’t it tiring to hold it like that?”

His arms would ache if he held that position for a while. He turned over and wanted to get out of bed, “Wait a moment, I’ll find a phone stand. My mom or sister-in-law should have one.”

“No, don’t go,” Ling Sheng quickly stopped him, “Lie down, put the phone on the bed or on the bedside table, so your hand won’t hurt.”

“Oh.” Jiang Chen tried for a long time, finally using the tissue box on the bedside table to prop up the phone so it could stand, and then started adjusting the angle.

He leaned forward, and the clothes of the pajamas were very loose, the collar drooping down right in front of the camera, the bedside lamp shining down, Ling Sheng could see everything.

Jiang Chen was oblivious. After adjusting the camera, he sat back on the bed, confirmed that everything was correct, and then lay down, “Is this okay? Can you see it?”

Ling Sheng looked at the handsome face in the camera looking at him expectantly and sighed helplessly, “I can see it.”

He couldn’t see it any clearer.

“Why don’t you lie down too? It’s tiring to hold the phone like that,” Jiang Chen moved closer to the phone, acting as if he was going to chat until dawn, “It’s good like this.”

They chatted until one o’clock in the morning. Jiang Chen finally hung up the phone reluctantly until the phone was about to run out of battery and shut down.

Jiang Chen thought there was nothing to talk about between them, but chatting with Ling Sheng was so comfortable. He played basketball, and they could talk about basketball games. Ling Sheng was also from Jiang City, and they could talk about the changes in Jiang City over the years. They were both from H University and could talk about school. Jiang Chen couldn’t help but tell him about his future career plans. Ling Sheng had more experience than him and could give him good advice, while also being a little humorous from time to time. The occasional teasing in his words made Jiang Chen want to drill into the phone and pull him out.

Pull him out to do what?

He wanted to kiss him.

The two of them had kissed twice before, and when the person wasn’t around, the taste lingered in his mind, making him even more itchy.

This National Day holiday was eight days long, but Jiang’s father didn’t let him leave. If he hadn’t been worried about the morning rush hour on the ninth, he would have wanted him to drive back on the morning of the ninth.

But the traffic jam was also terrible in the evening. Jiang Chen finished dinner at home and forced himself to wait until ten o’clock before starting to drive back, and he didn’t arrive until almost twelve o’clock.

He arrived at the building downstairs where Ling Sheng lived.