Batter My Heart,Mr Xi (Book 2)

Chapter XXVII

The fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor had long dimmed when Cheng Yi finally reached for his phone in the doctor's lounge.

His eyes widened behind his glasses – 48 missed calls. His stomach dropped as he scrolled through the notifications, most from his future mother-in-law's number.

He and the lady were not close at all. Why would she call him so much?  Instead he would call Fu Shiyun and asks her what it was about.

He dialed Fu Shiyun's number. Instead of her voice, her mother's sharp tone cut through the speaker.

"Finally decided to answer, Dr. Cheng?" The sarcasm was palpable.

"I apologize, Madam Fu. My phone was on silent during—"

"Your fiancée is in labor! Do you understand? While you've been unreachable, Shiyun has been calling for you!"

His vision blurred for a moment at the news. "But... it's too early. She wasn't due for another two weeks."

"The baby decides when it's time, not your schedule!" Her voice cracked with frustration. "We're at Central Hospital. Fourth floor."

The night air bit at his face as he ran to his car. When he burst through the maternity ward doors, he found the some Fu family members an their assistants assembled like a tribunal. His mother-in-law's face was pinched with disapproval, Grandmother Fu wrung her hands anxiously, and Fu Tuying, his future brother-in-law, pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against.

"Look who finally showed up," Fu Tuying sneered, measuring Cheng Yi with cold eyes.

His mother-in-law stepped forward. "Do you even care about Shiyun? Or is your precious career more important than your own child being born? Ridiculous!"

Cheng Yi swallowed his usual defenses. None of that mattered now. "Where is she?"

"They just took her to the delivery room," Grandmother Fu said softly, the only one showing him any kindness.

"At least you're here now," someone muttered. "You might be useful for something."

The minutes crawled by like hours. Cheng Yi paced the corridor, his composed demeanor cracking with each pass. His mind played through every possible complication he'd ever studied, each worst-case scenario torturing him until his collar felt too tight, his palms sweaty.

When the doctor emerged, time stood still.

"Congratulations," she smiled. "Would the father like to come meet his son?"

The word 'father' hit him like a thunderbolt. He didn't even turn to the Fu tribunal behind him and he followed the doctor in a daze, barely registering the family's collective sigh of relief behind him.

The room was quiet except for soft whimpers. Fu Shiyun lay propped against pillows, her dark hair plastered to her forehead, face flushed with exhaustion. But her eyes – they shone with a light he'd never seen before as she cradled their son.

"Cheng Yi," she whispered, reaching for his hand. "Come meet him."

He perched carefully on the edge of the bed, adjusting his glasses nervously. The bundle in her arms squirmed, and his heart stopped. Tiny fingers. Button nose. Perfect bow lips.

"Hold him," she urged, already shifting the baby toward him.

"I... I might drop him," he stammered, but she was already guiding their son into his arms.

"Support his head... there, just like that."

The weight of his son in his arms changed something fundamental in Cheng Yi's universe. His vision blurred again, but this time with tears as he studied every perfect feature. The baby yawned, and Cheng Yi felt his heart expand beyond anything he thought possible.