Nana put the Zixin back in his crib as he already dozed off.
Jianyu chuckled. “To be honest, I really thought that it would be a daughter.”
Serena looked at him, surprised.
“Huh?” Nana asked, “Why?”
Jianyu scratched his head. “Well, you gave birth to twin boys, so I was sure that mine would be a girl.”
Nana’s mouth twitched. “What kind of logic is that? How can the gender of my babies determine yours?” She flicked his forehead.
Serena wondered the same.
Jianyu whined. “Hey! In my defense, Mom also thought the same. And not just regarding Zixin. She told me once that when she was pregnant with me, she was sure that it would be a girl since Aunt gave birth to bro. She was like, ‘Bro got a boy so mine will be a girl!’”
Nana and Serena had no words to say. They were utterly speechless.
“You know, actually the women in Liu family since generations, whether daughters or daughters-in-law have, predominantly, always given birth to sons. Daughters were really rare. It was like a once in a blue moon occurrence. Daughters in the Liu family are rare, and so if you go back to our family tree, you would find that we have many great and great-grand Uncles or grandfathers but not aunts. There have been hardly that many. You can count them on fingers.”
They widened their eyes. “Really? I never knew that.” Nana said.
Jianyu nodded. “Uncle and Aunt might not have mentioned it. But it is true. As I said, there were only boys. So when Mom was born, everybody was really happy. They thought that a sort of chain broke when Mom was born. They thought that we would get daughters now, too, from then on. Her birth was a huge celebration in the Liu family.”
He laughed. “But years later, Aunt gave birth to bro. Mom gave birth to me, while seven years later, Aunt gave birth to Jing – a boy again. So the chain continued, and we concluded that the chain is still there. And see? Even now. You have twin boys while I also have a son.”
Nana found this so incredible. She couldn’t believe that something like this was actually the case.
But then she wondered that will she really not have a girl in her lifetime? A daughter would be so nice…
She froze.
Another child? Didn’t that mean reconciling with Jinhai? And just now, their relationship had taken a worse hit.
Idiot me. How can I think of that?
The thought of Jian and Nian once again made her feel resentful.
Serena’s thoughts were along the same lines. But her gaze soon dimmed. At least Nana and Jinhai could still try for another baby, but she…
I can never give Jianyu another child again…
She felt even sadder to know that Jianyu actually expected a girl. But obviously, he was happy with Zixin too. As long as his child was healthy, he didn’t mind the gender.
But she thought that there was no hope of a daughter in their lives. She lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers.
Jianyu looked at Nana, and she seemed as if she was in some deep thought.
Then he glanced at Serena and blinked his eyes.
What happened to her?
She looked the same as Nana – a bit sad and disappointed. There was a sudden silence in the air.
Hey, hey, wait! Did I say something wrong?
He didn’t understand Nana’s concern, but he fairly got an idea of what Serena might be thinking. He sighed.
Ah…I didn’t mean it that way…Shit!
“Nana,” Shin called her. “Come on. It’s time for you to go back and rest now.”
She nodded.
“And Serena. I am here if you need any help as well.”
She also nodded.
Nana smiled. “See you later. Oh yes! We will plan a get together soon with our babies! Hehe~ all the three boys together. Ah, they would look so adorable!”
Serena softly chuckled. “Yes, they would.”
Shin and Nana left.
Jianyu said, “Hey.”
“Y-yes?”
He hesitated. “Why did you seem sad just a moment ago?”
Serena didn’t know that he noticed. “Nothing…”
His mouth twitched. “Nonsense! Did you think about unnecessary things? Look, I-I am sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I am not disappointed with Zixin, okay? Don’t ever think that.”
She shook her head. “Of course, I don’t think that. I know you love him.”
Jianyu nodded. “Really…about the daughter, it was just a thought. Nothing else.”
She faintly smiled.
Jianyu narrowed his eyes. “You thought about how you are not able to give me a second child in the future, right? Which could have been a daughter, and that would have made me so happy.”
She panicked. “No, No!” But she couldn’t look him straight in the eyes and averted her gaze.
“Don’t lie! I can read you like an open book.” He scooted near her on the bed and held her hands. “Listen to me. Don’t think about that. We have Zixin, and he is enough for me. Both of you are safe, and that’s what matters to me. Plus, didn’t I just say that daughters are a really rare occurrence in our family, and I am a half Liu through Mom, so it’s in my genes. Most probably, even the second child would have been a boy anyway.”
Serena smiled and nodded.
“Good. Now you rest.”
He gently tucked her to bed and spread the blanket on her.
“Sleep now.”
She shut her eyes. Jianyu waited for a while before he heard her soft breaths.
Jianyu got up. He turned, but he stopped. He faced her again. He slowly bent down and kissed her forehead.
Satisfied, he left the ward.
Finally, all alone, Serena’s opened her eyes, and her lips curved into a soft smile. She touched the place on her forehead, where Jianyu had kissed. A warm and fuzzy feeling spread in her chest. Her heart was beating a little faster.
She smiled and closed her eyes once again.
