Rebirth from the Ashes

Li Yuan had been feeling the blues and lonesome lately. Even since his fair lady moved into motherhood, her attention was now on the babies while he, the husband, was shoved aside.

He had not shared an intimate moment with Shen Xi, be it night or day. Forget the day, she was plagued with a million worries and unwilling to let her mothers take care of the children at night.

It had only been less than a week, yet Shen Xi was looking horrible in complexion due to lack of sleep despite her best efforts to load up on vitamins and supplements. She lost a lot of weight while caring for the newborns day and night. Li Yuan's heart went out to her, but she refused to listen to him. All that talk only made her kick up a fuss.

Mom and Dad told him that women tended to have mood swings after childbirth. Since Li Yuan dared not take too hard of an approach, he tried to coax her and figure out ways to nurse her to health.

Yu Yuanxi mentioned giving it time. Song Wenye hogged the baby for the first month, insisting she wanted to be completely hands-on, and no one could talk her out of it.

Nevertheless, things got a lot better once a month had passed, maybe because the joy and novelty of becoming a mother had worn off a little. Song Wenye finally allowed Mom and Granny Yu to watch the kid at night.

Yu Yuanxi felt bad as his wife suffered a lot, giving birth and taking care of the baby. They only had one child while his fair lady conceived two in one go.

That night, the two infants slept early without much fuss.

Li Yuan carried the newborns to their bed and looked at the new mother who was fast asleep. Lifting the covers, Li Yuan held her dearly and planted light kisses on her eyes.

With the girl's lashes fluttering, she opened her eyes and nudged him away, mumbling groggily. "Bring Tangtang and Mianmian here."

"No." Holding the girl tightly in his arms, Li Yuan stood his ground. "Don't get up in the middle of the night to feed them. I'll feed them when they're awake."

"They say mother's milk is the best." Shen Xi snuggled up in his arms and spoke in a soft and raspy voice. "Bring them here."

"No." Although speaking through clenched teeth, Li Yuan did not have the heart to be harsh on her. In the end, he sighed. "The milk you pumped in the morning is in the bottle. I'll heat the milk up when they're hungry."

"The milk's not fresh anymore." Shen Xi's volume turned down as she tried to stay up. She murmured, "Fresh is best."

"It's fresh. The milk is sealed with the most advanced technology to retain its freshness. There's no difference whether they have it straight from you or the bottle." Li Yuan gently patted her back as if she was a child. "Sleep tight and stop worrying about them."

Had he known that giving birth and raising children would put her through so much, Li Yuan would ensure contraception was 100% guaranteed against having children. Still, what could they do now that the two pains in the *ss were out of her womb?

He thought at first that his fair lady was too carefree to end up like Song Wenye even after childbirth. To his surprise, Shen Xi was worse off, clinging to the children 24/7.

Following a subtle snore, he lowered his gaze and found the girl deep in slumber. He could also hear the kitten-like mews coming from the cot behind him, and the girl in her arms stirred a little in response.

"Sleep." Li Yuan tenderly commanded in her ear. If she continued to care for these little troublemakers day and night, he would have to speak to Fu Qingxuan about making her get some proper sleep.

Perhaps she was at her limit, the girl in his embrace let out a whimper before falling back asleep. Li Yuan got up and tiptoed out, quietly pushing along the cot.

"Is Xixi asleep?" Shangguan Yanqiu was outside waiting. Looking at the babies, she realized one of them was wide awake. The newborn had huge and beautiful eyes that twinkled like black pearls. It was her granddaughter, Tangtang.

It was easy to tell the twins apart. Her grandson, Mianmian was a crybaby and a carbon copy of Qingxuan when he was younger. He slept after his belly was full and woke up crying.

Tangtang took after Xixi, looking content even when she was awake. She would smile when feeling amused and hum when she was hungry. She was a well-behaved baby.

"Yes." Li Yuan nodded. "Mom, sorry to trouble you tonight."

"It's no trouble. I love the darling babies the most." Shangguan Yanqiu noticed his eyebags. "You should get some rest."

Xixi had not slept well in the past week, and so did he. Her daughter watched the two children while he looked after three of them which included the oldest baby in the house.

Watching as the children were pushed out of the room, Fu Qingxuan ran over to hold the babies but was stopped by Shangguan Yanqiu. "Don't start. Xixi will get up if you make them cry."

Fu Qingxuan was not one to listen. He had picked one of them up. "Mom, this is Tangtang, we're talking about. Tangtang won't cry. Right, Tangtang?"

Shangguan Yanqiu grinned. "Yes. Tangtang won't cry, just like Xixi when she was little. This little man is basically you. His cries can shake the earth, and man, the tantrums."

"Tangtang, say Uncle." Fu Qingxuan played dumb as he teased the little girl in his arms. Seeing that Li Yuan had not left, Fu Qingxuan looked back to give him the stink eye. "What are you looking at? Get back in there and take care of my little sister."

"Oh, you." Shangguan Yanqiu helplessly shook her head. Qingxuan sure loved to pick on Yuan. Fortunately, Yuan had a good temper. Otherwise, it would progress to a full-blown fight.

Li Yuan crept his way back into the room, but his movements still awakened the girl in bed. Watching as she opened her eyes in a daze, Li Yuan approached with a smile. "I handed the children to Mom. Now get some good night's rest."

Half-asleep, Shen Xi hugged his waist and cuddled up before letting out a soft hum as he drew close. There was no telling whether she heard him.

Li Yuan affectionately caressed her face with heartache written all over his eyes. "Give yourself some love and don't worry about the babies."

He wanted to find a confinement lady to take care of the newborns, but Shen Xi refused him. Mom and Dad would not agree to the idea too as the grandparents and uncles wanted their turns to watch over the children.

Qingye and Fu Qingxuan aside, Qingli was great with the infants, perhaps because he was a father to Guoguo and Lil' Zhen. Qingli was not at all his usual ruthless self and turned in the paperwork for diapers.

"Mianmian will cry if I take my eyes off him." Shen Xi heard him and added.

"You can't spoil him or else he can't leave you ever." Li Yuan believed the bad habit had to go. Otherwise, it would come back to haunt them.