I'm Done with the Elite Marriage - Chapter 79
After solving the breastfeeding problem, Zhou Youling slept especially soundly.
From the time she gave birth until now, Zhou Youling had barely closed her eyes. Rong Huiying, feeling sorry for her daughter, made sure no one disturbed her. As a result, Zhou Youling slept for a full 12 hours.
Ever since she could remember, Zhou Youling seemed to love sleeping a bit more than others. But after becoming an adult, she had never slept so long in one stretch.
When she woke up, Zhou Youling felt refreshed, and even the gloom of the past few days had completely vanished. Her first reaction was to check on the baby, but seeing the baby asleep, she didn’t want to disturb her.
Rong Huiying saw Zhou Youling awake and hurried over to ask, “Are you hungry? Want to eat something?”
To be honest, Zhou Youling was indeed a bit hungry and rattled off a whole list of dishes.
But just as she finished speaking, Zhou Youling heard a “mocking” voice: “At a time like this, you still want to eat boiled fish? Aren’t you supposed to eat light food during postpartum confinement?”
Following the voice, Zhou Youling saw Bai Lingxue standing not far away. Not only Bai Lingxue, but Congshi had come too. This made Zhou Youling very happy.
“How come you’re here!” Zhou Youling laughed.
“Listen to yourself,” Bai Lingxue walked over and pinched Zhou Youling’s soft, rosy cheek. “You’re our best friend. Having a baby is such a big deal–how could we not come?”
Rong Huiying smiled and gently patted Bai Lingxue’s shoulder, saying, “Alright, you two play here. I’ll go make something for Lingling to eat. Your uncle is completely useless, hasn’t helped at all here, so I sent him home to rest. Now that you’re here, you can keep Lingling company.”
“Okay, aunt, you go ahead.”
Ever since Zhou Youling moved to B City, her interactions with her two best friends weren’t as frequent as before.
But Bai Lingxue and Congshi still often came to B City to hang out with Zhou Youling, and every time they saw her belly getting bigger day by day, they couldn’t help but marvel.
“I have to say, I’m pretty sharp. When I saw you hadn’t said anything in the group these past two days, I guessed you must have given birth,” Bai Lingxue said.
Zhou Youling slapped her forehead and said, “Oh, look at my memory!”
She really had forgotten to tell her friends she’d already given birth, completely overwhelmed these past two days by the breastfeeding issues.
Bai Lingxue and Congshi didn’t blame Zhou Youling; after all, new moms are always flustered.
Congshi, curious, pulled up a chair and sat in front of Zhou Youling: “What does it feel like to give birth? Let me see your belly.”
Zhou Youling generously lifted the quilt, letting her two friends “observe” her belly.
Her belly hadn’t gotten very big during pregnancy, and now it was almost flat again. But after ten months of pregnancy, her belly had ballooned like a big ball, so for a while it didn’t look as flat as before–there was a bit of loose, saggy feeling.
Bai Lingxue sighed, “Mothers are truly amazing!”
“It’s alright, I don’t think it’s that impressive,” Zhou Youling admitted.
Congshi ran over to look at the baby, marveling as she watched: “Oh my, so tiny! Her face is even smaller than my palm.”
“Ahhh, her fingers are so, so small, it feels like they’d break with a gentle pinch.”
“Wuwuwu, so cute!”
The baby slept peacefully nearby. In just three days, she already looked different from when she was first born.
Zhou Youling asked Congshi to push the baby’s crib over; she wanted to take a look too.
These days, no matter how hard or exhausting breastfeeding was, as soon as she saw this little one, it felt like all the hardship and fatigue disappeared.
Bai Lingxue also leaned over the crib, gazing at the baby with a blissful look, and took the chance to ask Zhou Youling, “Have you picked a name for the baby yet?”
Zhou Youling shook her head, “Not yet. Naming her is really giving me a headache.”
Actually, even before the baby was born, Zhou Zhishan had already started thinking about names. Back then, not knowing the baby’s gender, Zhou Zhishan came up with several names for both boys and girls, just to be prepared. But after the baby was born, Zhou Zhishan felt none of the names he’d picked were quite right.
Zhou Zhishan had heard somewhere that naming a child was a big deal, and that you should calculate what the child’s birth time lacked in her fate, then pick a name to make up for it. So these past two days, Zhou Zhishan hadn’t helped with anything else, just kept busy with the naming.
Congshi asked, “What’s the baby’s surname?”
Unexpectedly, as soon as she asked, Bai Lingxue flicked her on the forehead: “What kind of question is that? Of course it’s Zhou.”
Zhou Youling said, “Right, of course she takes my surname Zhou. What else did you think?”
Hearing this, Congshi instinctively glanced at the door and pointed outside, saying to Zhou Youling, “I saw Fu Xunzhou sitting outside.”
“He’s still outside?” Zhou Youling was a bit surprised.
Congshi said, “He was sitting out there when we arrived, and he even greeted me just now. How should I put it–Fu Xunzhou seems really different this time compared to before.”
Congshi had never really liked Fu Xunzhou before, probably because their personalities clashed. She always felt Fu Xunzhou was stern and distant. But this time was different–Congshi could clearly feel that Fu Xunzhou seemed much more approachable.
Zhou Youling didn’t really want to bring up Fu Xunzhou, so she changed the subject: “The renovation of Food and Color’s B City branch is finally done, though it was a bit behind schedule. When it opens, you all have to come and support me.”
“Of course, that’s no problem,” Bai Lingxue said. “But do you still have the mood to care about the restaurant right now?”
Zhou Youling replied, “It’s not that hard. The restaurant already has a hired restaurant manager and Kitchen Supervisor getting everything ready. They’re more experienced than me, so I trust them.”
Bai Lingxue nodded. “You should just rest for now.”
As they spoke, the baby lying in the crib suddenly started crying.
Zhou Youling’s mood instantly became tense.
Bai Lingxue and Congshi also looked bewildered and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? What should we do?”
During her pregnancy, Zhou Youling had read plenty of parenting books, but theory was theory–when the moment came, she was at a loss.
Outside, Fu Xunzhou heard the baby’s cries and walked to the hospital room door, asking, “Can I come in and take a look?”
The room fell silent for a moment. Bai Lingxue and Congshi both turned to look at Zhou Youling.
Zhou Youling said coldly, “No need. I know how to handle it myself.”
Fu Xunzhou stood at the door and said smoothly, “The baby just finished feeding not long ago. If he’s crying now, maybe check if he needs a diaper change.”
Hearing this, Bai Lingxue immediately went to check, and upon seeing the situation, she exclaimed loudly as if discovering a new continent, “Poop! It really is poop!”
Fu Xunzhou hadn’t gotten Zhou Youling’s permission, so he still stood outside. He said calmly, “What needs to be done now is cleaning up. If possible, let me handle it, okay?”
Neither Bai Lingxue nor Congshi had any experience with this, and Zhou Youling herself found it a bit inconvenient to do alone.
It just so happened that there were only the three of them in the room, with no one more experienced to help.
Zhou Youling hesitated.
Her heart had already softened, but if she let Fu Xunzhou in now, she was afraid she’d fall apart.
The baby lying in the crib cried even louder.
Fu Xunzhou looked sincerely at Zhou Youling and said, “Trust me.”
“Come in,” Zhou Youling finally relented.
Fu Xunzhou quickly entered the room.
He was wearing only a thin long-sleeved shirt, and as he came in, he rolled up his sleeves. Then he found a basin and a soft towel.
Bai Lingxue and Congshi stared blankly at Fu Xunzhou, watching him go to the bathroom to get warm water, then carry it over to the crib.
Fu Xunzhou gently opened the swaddle, his movements tender as he unfastened the soiled diaper, then lifted the baby’s legs with one hand to raise his bottom.
Bai Lingxue instinctively frowned at the sight of the mess, feeling a bit disgusted. But Fu Xunzhou’s expression didn’t change at all. He first used a clean, soft tissue to gently wipe the filth from the baby’s bottom, then soaked the towel in warm water and wrung it out.
Throughout, Fu Xunzhou’s movements were smooth, as if he’d done this countless times before. He was gentle, carefully cleaning the baby’s bottom and then putting on a fresh diaper.
But in truth, this was Fu Xunzhou’s first time doing any of this. He had no experience, only theoretical knowledge. Yet everything seemed instinctive–once he saw the baby, he just knew what to do.
Watching this warm scene unfold, Zhou Youling couldn’t help but be moved. She’d never imagined Fu Xunzhou would do something like this; even when they hadn’t divorced, she’d never pictured it. In her eyes, Fu Xunzhou was always lofty and untouchable, never someone who would personally deal with such messes.
But just now, seeing Fu Xunzhou gently bow his head to clean the baby, even Zhou Youling was stunned. Such a cold man, yet doing these things, seemed so tender.
And the baby, as if sensing his own comfort, stopped crying after Fu Xunzhou wiped his bottom, just staring wide-eyed at the person before him.
Seeing the baby quietly watching Fu Xunzhou, Zhou Youling felt a twinge of jealousy. But she didn’t even know what she was jealous of.
“He can’t actually see me at this stage,” Fu Xunzhou said lightly. “A baby’s vision is still very weak now; everything he sees is blurry.”
“I see…” Bai Lingxue learned this for the first time.
Congshi couldn’t help but step forward and tease the little guy, “Didn’t expect your poop to be so stinky!”
After cleaning up, Fu Xunzhou washed the basin and towel thoroughly and put them away, then said to Zhou Youling, “Don’t worry. If you need anything, I’m always here.”
Zhou Youling looked up at Fu Xunzhou, wanting to say something, but her throat wouldn’t make a sound.
She told herself not to be defeated by this side of Fu Xunzhou, not to soften her heart.
Fu Xunzhou wanted so much to reach out and touch Zhou Youling’s haggard face, but in the end, he just clenched his fists tightly.
“You’ve worked hard,” Fu Xunzhou said.
Since Zhou Youling gave birth, this was the thing he most wanted to say to her.
Zhou Youling awkwardly turned her head and coughed lightly, saying, “I’m a bit thirsty. I’ll have some water.”
Fu Xunzhou said softly behind her, “Don’t drink cold water.”
