Rebirth from the Ashes

Shen Xi chuckled while burying her head in Li Yuan's arms. She nuzzled against his embrace to find a sweet spot. "Goodnight."

She did not get much sleep in the past few days, but he basically stayed awake the whole night, caring for her and the babies. Shen Xi's heart could not be any fuller since childbirth, but a mother's job was definitely wearing her out.

It was a natural birth, and the two little children came out fine. She did not suffer too much.

Li Yuan tenderly acknowledged and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Goodnight."

That night, the couple finally had uninterrupted sleep until the next afternoon. Shangguan Yanqiu knocked on the door because she felt sorry for Mianmian as nothing could stop him from crying.

Carrying Mianmian, Fu Qingxuan tried to scare him. "I'm going to throw you if you cry some more, little punk. Why do you love to cry? Why can't you learn from Tangtang?"

The little rascal was hard to please. He got his milk and was not sick, but here he was, crying his lungs out. Xixi was exhausted and finally got some sleep, but that did not stop him from kicking up a storm.

"Why is Mianmian crying again?" Fu Qingli walked in with Lu Zhen in tow. Lu Zhen entered with a poker face, looking sterner than Fu Qingli.

"The kid's a pain in the neck. Just listen to him. We can't get him to settle down." Fu Qingxuan had the mind to throw Mianmian away.

"Give him to me." Fu Qingli strode over to carry the little man in his arms and rocked him. "Mianmian is not a pain in the neck. Your uncle is though. Don't cry."

Fu Qingxuan snorted. "He's a pain in the neck. He only wants Xixi. No one else can…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the wailing boy gradually ceased the tears, albeit sobbing a little.

Fu Qingli looked at him. "Do you know why Mianmian cries?"

"Because he's scared of you," Fu Qingxuan shot his mouth off.

How was he supposed to know? No one could settle the baby down. Fu Qingxuan, Mom, Dad, and the maids had tried their hand, but it was no use. Why did Mianmian stop crying in Qingli's arms?

"Because he doesn't like you." Holding the baby, Fu Qingli turned around and looked at his son who had an anticipating glint in his eyes. "Do you want to see your little cousin?"

Lil' Zhen was still shutting Fu Qingli out despite the latter having gotten together with his mom now. Lil' Zhen never looked pleased when he was around, but the boy was willing to come back with him for a change. Although Lil' Zhen never said it aloud, he had intended to come and visit his younger siblings.

Lu Li brought Guoguo along to visit the newborns when Xixi was in labor. Lil' Zhen was not able to make the visit because he was in China. Guoguo had been talking about how cute the new siblings were since her return.

Although Lu Zhen's eyes lip up, he kept a straight face as he nodded. Concerned that he might not get a peek of the baby, Lu Zhen got on his toes nervously and excitedly.

Fu Qingli kneeled and put Mianmian near Lu Zhen for a good look. "This is Mianmian, your younger brother. Your younger sister, Tangtang is fast asleep over there."

Mom said that Tangtang took after Xixi. She was a good little girl, eating and sleeping without kicking a fuss. Not even an earthquake or Mianmian's crying could wake the little girl.

Guoguo named the girl Tangtang, after Tangguo.

Mianmian stopped crying.

Li Yuan and Shen Xi's bedroom door was opened, but Shangguan Yanqiu pushed Li Yuan back in now that the crying had stopped. "Have a good rest with Xixi. Just sleep in. Mianmian's not crying anymore."

Li Yuan turned back and glanced at the girl who was nestled under the covers and fast asleep. He nodded. "Sure."

Sure, they were told to get some good night's rest. However, the girl stirred awake in the middle of the night at the slightest noise. She would sit up to look for the children and only realized they were with Mom after her little search.

It happened a few times. She finally crashed out at the break of dawn and had not woken up since.

Shangguan Yanqiu took off.

Li Yuan closed the door and got into bed. The girl rolled and tumbled in his arms, mumbling something in her sleep. Then came her steady breathing.

The girl in his embrace slowly opened her eyes when it was time to eat. Rubbing her belly, she looked at him and spoke hoarsely, "I'm hungry."

With a smile, Li Yuan met her forehead. "Get up to eat. Mom said she made your favorite."

"Okay." Shen Xi lay still.

Li Yuan asked cheerfully, "Do you want me to bring the food over so you can eat in bed?"

Rolling around in his arms, Shen Xi shook her head. "No. I want to get up and eat."

Shen Xi had to see the babies as she felt as though she had not seen them for a long time. Oh, she missed them so much.

Li Yuan got out of bed before pulling her up. He helped her into her clothes and shoes before standing in front of her. "Should I carry you out?"

Breaking into a smile, Shen Xi spread her arms to be carried.

Lunch was ready.

Everyone was all over the children when Shen Xi and Li Yuan walked out of the room.

Tangtang was awake, and Fu Qingxuan was enjoying some time with her.

Lying on the sofa, Mianmian was awake and not crying for a change. Lu Zhen was teasing him with a teaser wand.

Shen Xi, "…"

Did he really take Mianmian for Toffeecito?

Nevertheless, Mianmian was such a crybaby. No one but her could soothe the boy once he turned on the waterworks. For once, Mianmian was on his best behavior.

"Aunty, Uncle." With Shen Xi and Li Yuan approaching, Lu Zhen greeted his elders.

"Let me look at you." In front of the kid, Shen Xi jumped off Li Yuan's arms to go and check on her son.

Li Yuan grabbed Shen Xi's wrist. "He has finally quieted down. He'd only want your full attention if you go there now."

The boy was an oddball. Lil' Zhen should sit and play with him during this rare moment of peace.

"Well then, I'll check on my darling daughter." Shen Xi turned around and faced the chuckling girl in Fu Qingxuan's arms.

"I'm not handing her over." Fu Qingxuan ran away while holding Tangtang. "Tangtang loves Uncle the most, right? Does Tangtang want to play with Uncle?"

Shen Xi, "…"

He should know that Tangtang was her daughter.

"They just ate. You two should get some food while they've quieted down." Shangguan Yanqiu called the couple over as the food was ready.

Since that day, everyone started fighting over two babies. Fu Qingxuan would return home whenever he had the time, wishing he could bring Tangtang along to the laboratory and everywhere he went. As for Mianmian, Fu Qingxuan was not the biggest fan as the kid would cry in his face every single time.

Fu Qingli really liked Mianmian though. Apart from Shen Xi, Mianmian enjoyed being in the company of Fu Qingli and Lu Zhen. The rest, including his father, Li Yuan, was not treated too kindly.

After wrapping up his latest movie, Fu Qingye cleared his schedule to garden and watch the kids at home. Mianmian did not warm up to Fu Qingye at first, but the little kid was soon swept away by his charms. Tangtang, on the other hand, was mild-mannered and got on with anybody.

Song Wenye and Yu Yuanxi waited until their child celebrated his full moon to visit.

Yun Jinping and Shen Zhangqing were not at the Fu family's home as they intended to spend some time with their grandchildren back in China.