"Never do such a despicable thing again. Look at how wonderful our Su Qing is—how could any other woman out there compare to her? Don't make such a foolish mistake again. You're about to become a father; you need to start acting like one."Father-in-law tapped Xiao Ji's head twice as he spoke.
Mother-in-law pulled Su Qing aside into the bedroom. "Don't be angry anymore,"she said to the tearful Su Qing. "Xiao Ji knows he was wrong, and he'll change this time. Just forgive him. Getting upset isn't good for your health. You're about to give birth—what matters now is staying calm, taking care of yourself, and bringing this child into the world safely."
Su Qing looked at her mother-in-law, touched her belly, and nodded through her tears.
Ever since she got pregnant, Xiao Ji hadn't touched her. What happened had left her feeling nauseated and stifled. He'd made the same mistake most men do—failing to control his baser instincts. But as long as his heart remained with her and their child, that was enough.
She would forgive him this once, as long as he truly repented. But even as she decided to forgive, the pain in her heart began to spread, seeping into every limb and pore. The baby was coming soon. What else could she do but swallow her resentment? Divorce over something like this?
She'd seen this storyline play out too often—wives pregnant, husbands straying. The odds seemed unfairly high. She'd never imagined it would happen to her. Yet when it did, most women had no choice but to endure in silence.
For the sake of giving their child a complete family, they choked down the bitter pill. Most women clenched their teeth and lived on, swallowing their grievances.
Cry, make a scene, threaten suicide—vent the emotions, then let it fade into the past. Let the tears of injustice flood unchecked in the dead of night. Pay the price for failing to see a man's true nature before marriage.
These things kept happening. It was a societal norm. So once a woman entered marriage, she was bound to shoulder some measure of suffering. Yet one couldn't refuse to marry just because of potential hardship—after all, marriage was still considered every woman's ultimate destiny.
At two in the morning, Su Qing woke up with a sharp pain in her abdomen. Tossing and turning, she thought her due date was still two weeks away—maybe the stress from earlier had caused the discomfort. But the contractions grew more frequent, the pain so intense her back was drenched in sweat.
Something was wrong. Maybe the baby was coming early. She turned on the bedside lamp and saw the other side of the bed empty—Xiao Ji was gone. When had he gotten up? She hadn't noticed.
She walked out and found him in the study, playing video games. Men were truly something else—after what had happened, he acted as if nothing was wrong.
Meanwhile, she lay there restless, her mind racing, tears flowing like water from a broken bucket.
Her eyelids were swollen like the shells of herbal medicine pills. Clutching her heavy, rounded belly, she pushed open the study door. "My stomach hurts—I think the baby's coming. We need to go to the hospital now. I can't take the pain anymore."
Xiao Ji immediately set down his headphones, woke his parents, gathered their things, and rushed Su Qing to the hospital.
Su Qing spent half the night in agony, writhing in pain. She swore to herself she'd never have another child—not even for a million dollars. She'd never imagined childbirth could hurt this much.
A chorus of voices in her head chanted: Never again. Never again. The pain seemed to taunt her, each second an eternity. It seemed the price of maternal greatness was excruciating, eighth-level pain.
Finally, a little past nine in the morning, she delivered a healthy, chubby baby boy weighing seven pounds and eight ounces.
Mother-in-law and father-in-law were overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear. By noon, her own parents arrived, equally elated. Her mother wore an especially proud expression. Everyone celebrated the arrival of this robust, wailing third-generation homo sapiens and their own newly elevated statuses.
Xiao Ji leaned in close, his face tender. "You've worked so hard, my love. Thank you."
His gentle words made her forget yesterday's pain and today's. In an instant, joy bloomed inside her like vast, radiant flowers. Her son's cries sounded like the most beautiful music in the world.
Her hair clung to her face, damp with sweat and tears. She turned to look at the tiny homo sapiens swaddled in blankets—his sticky little head, his dark hair, his tightly shut eyes. Even fresh from the womb, she found it unbelievable: Had she really given birth to this little creature? Life was a miraculous thing, and right now, this tiny being seemed unbearably precious.
Seeing the flicker of happiness in Xiao Ji's eyes, she forgot the life-and-death struggle she'd just endured. In this moment, their little family radiated warmth—no room left for a third party to wedge in.
Suddenly, she felt it had all been worth it. Her son's arrival made her realize that even pain could be beautiful.
In an instant, all her suffering and fear melted away, replaced by a blazing warmth in her heart.