When Shen Yiguang returned, his wife was nowhere to be seen in either the courtyard or the main house, so he entered the room.
Seeing the girl quietly asleep on the heated brick bed, Shen Yiguang involuntarily lightened his step. He didn’t know how long she had been sleeping; he rembered it was just past one o’clock when he left, and now it was nearly six. If she had gone to sleep after he left, then she had been asleep for almost five hours. Sleeping too much during the day surely ant she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep at night.
He intended to go and wake her, as it was almost ti for dinner, and if she’d been asleep all afternoon, she definitely hadn’t had her afternoon al. He hoped she wasn’t starving.
"Minmin?"
Shen Yiguang sat on the edge of the brick bed, looking at her flushed sleeping face. Fearing she might catch a cold, the room’s heated bed was kept warm all day long. Feeling her apparent warmth in her sleep, he quickly checked her back and found she was indeed sweating.
"Minmin, wake up."
Yang PeiMin groggily opened her eyes, looked at Shen Yiguang in confusion, and then suddenly embraced him, "It’s you! You scared !"
Shen Yiguang hugged her back, touching her forehead, "What’s the matter? Did you have a nightmare?"
Yang PeiMin nodded with a hoarse voice, still shaken from the dream, "I had a terrible dream. I dread I died in childbirth, that it was a disaster, and there was blood everywhere... so terrifying."
"Don’t be afraid, dreams are the opposite of reality," Shen Yiguang held her tight and gently stroked her back, comforting her softly, "I’m here now, everything is fine."
Yang PeiMin, still thinking about her dream, couldn’t shake it off for a long ti. She just knew to hold Shen Yiguang tightly, burying her head in his chest, listening to his steady and strong heartbeat, and gradually began to feel calr.
Shen Yiguang kissed her forehead and coaxed, "See, now everything is okay. How about we change clothes and go out to eat?"
Yang PeiMin shook her head, not wanting to move just yet, her arms still wrapped tightly around Shen Yiguang’s waist.
Shen Yiguang scooped her up into his lap, resting his chin atop her head, sitting with her in silence.
Soon after, soone knocked on the door, and Shen Yiyue called from outside, "Brother! Sister-in-law, it’s ti to eat."
"Alright, we’ll be right out."
"Hurry up then, or the food will get cold."
"Minmin, let’s go out," said Shen Yiguang, pulling his wife from his embrace. Seeing that she still looked sowhat dazed, he felt incredibly sorry for her. "Or shall I have Yiyue bring our al here, so we can eat in this room? I’ll stay with you."
Yang PeiMin nodded. Though she had left Shen Yiguang’s embrace, her hands were still firmly clinging to his arm. She didn’t know why she had such a dream. In it, she was in labor for two days and nights without giving birth, and the pain was excruciating. She desperately wanted soone to help her, but no one offered a hand. Instead, people crowded around her bed, urging her to push, moving from encouragent to disappointnt. Indeed, their faces were full of disappointnt in the end, as they saw her shake her head, unable to muster any strength, still unable to deliver the child. An old woman even reached between her legs, shaking her head, saying, "It’s no use; the child has suffocated to death?"
Then everyone started shouting about heavy bleeding and that the adults were in danger too.
Then, sohow, her vision filled with a sky of blood, and she was abruptly awakened by Shen Yiguang. The scene from the dream felt incredibly real; she still hadn’t snapped out of it, her heart racing, head throbbing, and her hand instinctively reached toward her slightly rounded belly. Inside, the baby was still safe and sound.
Shen Yiguang noticed her movent and held her again, saying urgently, "Right, that dream was all fake. The baby is still fine inside your belly. He’s resting quietly in there, nothing is wrong. You can’t scare yourself like that, or the little one inside will feel scared too. You always tell , right? Don’t think he doesn’t know anything just because he’s young; actually, he can feel it. So your emotions... he can feel them too, right? So, stop thinking about it. Don’t think about anything now. Have a good al; the baby must be hungry too. You didn’t eat this afternoon, did you?"
Yang PeiMin mumbled an acknowledgnt and let Shen Yiguang help her change her clothes. Her undergarnts were sweat-soaked, though she didn’t know if it was from heat or fright; in any case, she needed to change quickly to avoid catching a cold.
After changing clothes, Shen Yiyue called from the door to hurry them for the al, "Mom asked to see what was wrong?"
Shen Yiguang said, "Bring our als into the room; your sister-in-law isn’t feeling well."
Outside, Shen Yiyue jumped at this; she knew her sister-in-law was currently the family’s top priority for care. This discomfort could not be ignored, so she asked anxiously, "What’s wrong? Should we get a doctor to co and see her?"
"It’s nothing serious; just bring the food in."
Shen Yiyue answered and was about to leave when Shen Yiguang stopped her, "Don’t let mom know. Just say your sister-in-law is still sleepy and won’t be coming out, so she won’t worry."
"Got it."
Yang PeiMin, leaning on Shen Yiguang’s shoulder with a reddened face, felt a bit embarrassed, "Is this really okay? Having my sister-in-law serve my al, won’t I seem too presumptuous?"
Shen Yiguang teased her nose, "We don’t have such rules in our house. Go out to eat if you want, and if you don’t feel like it, don’t. Just tell dad and mom, and that’s fine. Besides, you’re still in a delicate condition. It’s windy and cold outside, and the ground is slippery; it’s not suitable for you to go out. Let’s just eat comfortably here."
Soon Shen Yiyue brought the al in, accompanied by Shen Yixiang, and they both looked closely at Yang PeiMin’s complexion.
Yang PeiMin’s face was slightly red, feeling uncomfortable; although she wasn’t leaning on Shen Yiguang anymore, her reluctance to go out and eat would surely seem petulant to others.
Shen Yiguang had already gone to take the dishes from their hands, "That’s enough, you two go eat. I will take care of these things later."
"But sister-in-law..."
Yang PeiMin smiled at them, "I’m fine,"
After they left, Yang PeiMin looked at the food on the table and had no appetite at all.
"I feel like vomiting."
"Where do you feel unwell? Tight chest or dizzy? How about we have so soup? It’s chicken soup. Look, Yiyue even skimd the fat off for you. Drink a little?"
Yang PeiMin took a sip and instantly felt her stomach roiling, but she forcibly held back the urge to let the soup co back up.
Shen Yiguang quickly took the bowl from her, also getting panicky, "You were fine earlier today; how did this happen?"
She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t know why; she just missed her family, especially the family from her previous life.
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