Chapter 150: A Family of Four (Dedicated to Mo Xiyan)

I instinctively reached out to touch my belly, feeling a wave of gratitude that I had decided to keep this child.

Later on, Brad was left with no better option and had to have him restrained to the bed and injected with sedatives.

After this happened a few times, Brad regretfully informed me that the postoperative recovery was not going as smoothly or ideally as anticipated. He explained that medical researchers had developed a new medication capable of significantly relieving pain on a broad scale, but it was still in the experimental stage. Therefore, the choices were either to endure the agony or rely on painkillers and pain-relief injections.

When Luo Ange suffered another attack, I stopped Brad from administering a sedative and ushered everyone out of the room.

Luo Ange was curled up in a corner, clutching his head and repeatedly banging it against the wall. Gritting my teeth, I walked over, squatted down in front of him, and demanded that he look at me.

But the pain had long since driven him out of his right mind, and he was completely beyond reason, consumed only by the urge to pull at his hair and smash his head against the wall.

Ached to my very soul, I threw myself over him, grabbed his hands, and pulled his head into my embrace, shouting, "Luo Ange, Luo Ange, look at me..."

He violently shoved me away, sending me reeling back, and then curled up in the corner once more, tugging desperately at his hair.

I scrambled up, lunged forward again, grabbed his hands, and without a second thought, pressed them against my lower abdomen.

He tried to push me away again, but I held his hands firmly in place. He raised his head, and our eyes met.

He lowered his gaze to our intertwined hands. Encouragingly, I lifted his hand, gave my lower belly a gentle pat with it, and managed a small smile for him.

He suddenly grew still, staring at my stomach, his face bathed in sweat, and stopped banging his head against the wall.

After a very long time, I helped him up, and leaning on each other, we made our way back to the bed.

Once he was lying down, I fetched a basin of warm water to wipe his face and massaged his temples.

We had made it through this ordeal. When Brad found out, he was half-delighted and half-concerned: "It turns out you are his only cure."

Such episodes occurred almost daily. By now, Brad had gained experience and instructed his medical team to no longer prepare sedatives or pain injections for Luo Ange.

I had no idea what kind of agony he was experiencing. In my eyes, Luo Ange had always been someone with an extraordinary capacity for endurance, yet when the attacks struck, he would be drenched in sweat, writhing in torment on the floor.

Each time, I held him tight. On several occasions, I could sense he was losing his grip on his temper, yet he still forced himself to consider me, enduring the torture with immense difficulty.

Whenever he whimpered in my arms like a frightened young beast, I would soothe him the way a mother calms her child: "There, there, you're going to be a father now. Don't scare the baby."

This phrase worked like magic. No matter how unbearable the pain, he would grit his teeth and bear it.

After two weeks of such torment, the frequency of his attacks gradually decreased from once a day to once every two days, and eventually to every three or four days.

He had grown shockingly thin, standing nearly one hundred and ninety centimeters tall yet weighing a mere sixty-five kilograms. Every time I held him, my heart ached profoundly.

His condition was improving, but my morning sickness showed no signs of abating—in fact, it grew increasingly severe, to the point where I vomited whatever I ate.

The female doctor Brad had brought in examined me and declared that I was suffering from malnutrition. Not daring to take rash measures, she had no choice but to hook me up to nutrient IVs.

I accepted all of this with a calm mind, touching my flat stomach and thinking that there must be some telepathic connection. The child knew I had once contemplated not keeping him, so he was making a fuss inside, constantly reminding me of how foolish I had once been.

When I finished telling him this, Luo Ange chuckled: "It's just a tiny embryo right now; how could it know anything about reminding someone?"

I felt a sudden urge to cry: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have had such thoughts; I should have told you right from the beginning."

He buried his face in my hands: "I know, I know. It's all my fault—I'm the one who failed to give you a sense of security."

***

On the Laba Festival, Brad finally brought me some good news: Luo Ange had recovered sufficiently during this period and could return home to recuperate.

I had already made up my mind to stay in Manhattan for the Lunar New Year. Old Madam Guan and Shu Aiqing had repeatedly consulted my wishes, but I truly didn't want to subject Luo Ange to the fatigue of travel. Besides, this would be the very first time our family of three spent the New Year together.

As soon as we stepped through the door, Xibao rushed over and hugged me. Luo Ange gently pulled her away with some effort, uttering just a few words: "Don't hurt your nephew."

Xibao froze for a second before letting out a shriek: "Waah! Sister-in-law, is it true?"

Blushing, I nodded. She lunged forward and threw her arms around me again: "This is wonderful, simply wonderful! We've finally become a family of four."

I supported Luo Ange as we walked upstairs. He desperately needed peace and quiet, and he could not afford to lose any more weight.

After settling him in bed, I tucked the blanket around him. When I turned to leave, he caught my hand, his voice still a little strained: "Don't wear yourself out. Let the servants handle things."

I nodded to reassure him: "I know. You get some sleep, and I'll call you when dinner is ready."

He placed his hand gently on my lower abdomen and let out a sigh: "It's truly miraculous that a tiny new life is growing in here."

I smiled happily: "Yes, so you need to get better quickly. As you said, you're responsible for earning a living to support the family, while we are responsible for looking pretty."

He nodded, his eyes turning red: "Don't worry. This is wonderful, simply wonderful..."

I knew what he meant. It was wonderful that we were still together; it was wonderful that we had a child; it was wonderful that we were now a family of four.

In the kitchen, Sister Si followed me every step of the way: "Miss, please leave these heavy chores to the servants. You should go and rest."

I shook my head: "No. From now on, I want to take personal charge of his meals. You've all worked hard too. Tonight, everyone will eat together, and tomorrow you can all return home to reunite with your families. After the New Year, we'll be heading back as well."

Sister Si's eyes reddened: "How can that be? Right now, both of you need looking after. The others can go home for the holiday, but I'll stay behind to take care of you."

I knew she had originally been Guan Erya's dowry maid, having spent all these years looking after the Guan siblings and long treating them as her own children.

I wrapped an arm around her: "Sister Si, I'll need your help raising the child in the future, and we'll have plenty of time. You have family too, don't you? They miss you very much."

Wiping away a tear and knowing she couldn't win the argument, she nodded and set to work helping me prep.

That evening, I cooked a large spread of dishes, all learned from my grandfather and my father. The table was piled high, making Xibao's mouth water just looking at it.

When I went upstairs, Luo Ange was on the phone: "I'll send you the blueprints tomorrow. Just design it following my train of thought."

As I pushed the door open, he ended the call and smiled at me.

His shaved hair had just begun to grow back in stubble, a hairstyle that made him look even thinner. I squatted down to slip his slippers on and draped a coat over his shoulders.

Suddenly, he pulled me into an embrace: "Wuyou, let me hold you and the baby."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and shared my plan: "Tonight, everyone will have dinner together, and we'll hand out red envelopes so they can go home and spend the New Year with their families. As for A Mu and A Yun, they don't have anywhere to go anyway, so they can stay here and celebrate with us."

He asked, "If all the servants leave, who's going to cook?"

As if reading my mind, he sighed: "No, that's much too tiring. The doctor said you need plenty of rest during the early stages of pregnancy."

"Luo Ange, you know what? Going through this experience has changed many of my perspectives. When I first wanted this child, I was afraid you'd lose your memories after the surgery, and I wanted something of you to hold onto. Now that your memory is intact, I find myself thinking that perhaps I really should stay home and focus on being a devoted wife and mother."

"Being a devoted wife and mother requires cooking every meal yourself?"

I laughed: "We're in extraordinary circumstances right now, aren't we? Besides, I want to cook for you and fatten you up. Once the New Year passes and we return to Kangcheng, I'll focus entirely on resting and nurturing the pregnancy."

He pinched the bridge of my nose: "Have it your way."

When Sister Si, the other servants, A Mu, and A Yun heard they were going to dine with us, they all waved their hands in refusal, saying it would break tradition.

Luo Ange waved a hand dismissively and gave a light cough: "There may not have been a precedent for this in the past, but things are different now. Wuyou is the master of the Luo household now, so you should do as she says."

They had no choice but to take their seats. I handed each of them a large red envelope to thank them for looking after us all this time.

A Mu casually handed his red envelope to Xibao as New Year lucky money. When Xibao tried to refuse, he acted like an older brother: "Take it. A Yun and I sharing one is enough."

I even went down to the wine cellar to fetch two bottles of fine red wine, filling the entire villa with a warm, festive atmosphere.

After dinner, A Mu and Sister Si vied to wash the dishes, turning it into a playful "Two Little Bees" game that left even Xibao convulsed with laughter. I supported Luo Ange upstairs, leaving the space to them.

I fetched a bathrobe, but Luo Ange took it from me: "I'll manage myself. You go and rest."

During the first few days after his surgery when he couldn't bathe, I had wiped him down myself; even after he was cleared to shower, I still worried and insisted on helping him wash.

I snatched the robe back: "I want the baby to spend more time with both Mom and Dad."

He looked at me deeply, said nothing more, and simply took my hand, leading me into the bathroom.

Before sleeping, it was his habit to read financial magazines for a while. I stepped out to check on things downstairs, and when I returned, I found Luo Ange squatting by the side of the bed.

Thinking his headache had flared up again, I rushed over, only to discover he was laying down a thick rug.

In truth, the entire room was already carpeted, but he was adding several extra layers.

When I asked what he was doing, he replied, "You toss and turn in your sleep. What if you roll off the bed and hurt the baby?"

I couldn't help laughing: "Luo Ange, I'm not that fragile."

He refused to listen, and ended up calling A Mu and A Yun into the room to haul the chaise lounge from the balcony over to the bedside, piling it high with thick blankets.

Sure enough, in the middle of the night, I rolled right off the bed. The instant I touched the chaise lounge, a pair of large hands scooped me back up.

I turned over, settling into that warm embrace, and murmured, "Mmm, Daddy's foresight is truly remarkable after all."

Awakened at dawn by a sickening wave of nausea, I hunched over the sink and dry-heaved for ages, managing to bring up nothing more than water.

I rinsed my mouth, caught sight of my haggard, pale reflection in the mirror, and then spotted Luo Ange standing behind me.

I wiped my mouth and offered him a smile: "It's fine. The doctor said it will pass after a while."

With a heart full of anguish, he pulled me into his arms, then abruptly squatted down and pressed his face against my stomach: "Mommy has been working so hard, little one, stop tormenting her. Be a good baby in there, and when you finally come out, you can torture Daddy instead, okay?"