The day Gu Yiming was born, heavy rain fell outside.
Shen Nanxing remembered it clearly. The rain had begun before dawn, pounding against the windowpanes of the hospital ward, one sound after another, as if someone outside were knocking nonstop. She lay in the delivery room, her abdomen tightening in waves. Pain dragged downward from her spine, as though something were tearing her apart and pulling her into the depths.
The nurse came to examine her cervix and comforted her softly. “Hold on a little longer. It’s almost time.”
Shen Nanxing nodded, sweat sliding down from her forehead along her temples. She was a nurse herself; she understood the procedures, the stages of labor, and the meaning behind every word spoken by the doctor and midwife. But knowledge could not lessen the pain, nor keep her from being afraid during the most agonizing moments.
Gu Cheng'an was outside.
He had originally promised to stay with her the whole time, but the delivery room did not allow family members to enter freely, so he could only wait in the corridor. When the pain blurred Shen Nanxing’s senses, she wanted to call his name several times, yet forced herself to hold back. She was afraid that if she called out, she would seem too fragile.
Mother-in-law was outside too. Her voice occasionally carried through the door, filled with urgency and excitement. “How is it? Has the baby been born? Is it a boy or a girl?”
When Shen Nanxing heard that, her heart inexplicably sank.
Another contraction swept over her. She gripped the bed rail tightly, her knuckles turning white. The midwife guided her in pushing, and she followed the instructions as every sound around her grew distant. At that moment, she was not a nurse, not a wife, and not a daughter-in-law. She was merely a woman in unbearable pain, desperately bringing her child into this world.
At 6:43 in the morning, the baby’s cries finally rang out.
The cries were strong, piercing the damp air of the delivery room. Shen Nanxing’s entire body relaxed, and tears nearly burst from her eyes at the same time. The midwife brought the baby to her side and said with a smile, “A boy, six pounds eight ounces, and very healthy.”
The tiny baby was wrinkled, his face red like a ripe peach. As Shen Nanxing looked at him, her heart suddenly melted completely. She raised her trembling hand and gently touched the baby’s cheek.
“Baby,” she called hoarsely.
The baby cried even louder.
Soon, mother-in-law’s uncontrollable laughter came from outside the door. “A boy! Cheng'an, it’s a son!”
Gu Cheng'an’s voice followed, carrying unmistakable excitement. “How is Nanxing?”
Hearing that, Shen Nanxing closed her eyes briefly, and the small grievance in her heart was once again covered by tenderness. At least he still remembered to ask about her.
After returning to the hospital ward, mother-in-law could not bear to put the baby down. One moment she said his nose looked like Cheng'an’s; the next, she said his forehead resembled someone from The Gu Family. Her face was full of joy. Gu Cheng'an stood beside the bed watching the baby, his eyes slightly red as well.
“You’ve worked hard,” he said to Shen Nanxing, lowering his head.
Shen Nanxing’s face was pale. She smiled weakly. “Have you decided on a name?”
“Mom said we should call him Yiming,” Gu Cheng'an said. “The Yiming from ‘to astonish the world with a single achievement.’”
Mother-in-law immediately joined in. “A boy’s name should be bold and resonant. He’ll be successful in the future, just like his father.”
Shen Nanxing looked at the baby in the swaddling clothes and did not argue. She also hoped he would be successful, safe, healthy, and loved by many people. Yet there was also a very small thought in her heart: this child was born because she had fought with all her strength.
But that day, what everyone talked about most was that The Gu Family had an heir, that Cheng'an had become a father, and whom the child resembled.
Only when the nurse came to change her dressing did someone gently ask her, “Does the incision hurt? Would you like me to help adjust your position?”
Shen Nanxing’s nose stung, and she nearly burst into tears.
During those first few postpartum days, she slept very little. Whenever the baby cried, she woke up. Feeding him, changing diapers, checking for jaundice, and recording how much he ate—she performed all these tasks skillfully, yet exhaustion made her vision blur. Mother-in-law would hold the baby and coax him, but whenever he cried, she would often hand him straight to Shen Nanxing. “He must be hungry. He’s looking for Mom.”
Gu Cheng'an came to the hospital to see her during the daytime, but he could never stay long before a call from his department colleagues summoned him away. Every time he left, he said, “It’ll be fine once I finish this busy stretch.”
Shen Nanxing believed him then.
Looking at her son’s tiny face, she thought that no matter how hard things were, it would all be worth it. She believed that after the child’s birth, their family would grow closer. She believed Gu Cheng'an would gradually learn to be a father, and that mother-in-law would cherish her more because she had given birth to the child.
Only later did she learn that some women, at the moment they became mothers, were solemnly welcomed by the entire family.
While other women, at the moment they became mothers, were officially presumed capable of enduring more.