Lu Yi didn’t say it, and she didn’t dare to say it either. Perhaps Lu Yi himself did not know.
The fetuses were three months old when she took another ultrasound test.
“Here’s the hand, here’s the tiny hands, and here’s the tiny feet…” pointed the obstetrician. Yan Huan watched closely, but failed to make out anything from the lump of blurry mess.
“Oh, there it is,” smiled the doctor. “The mystery is over. Would you like to know their gender?” She could disclose the information to Yan Huan if she wanted to know, since she was a special patient.
And Yan Huan did want to know. But in the end, she shook her head. It was better to leave it as it was. To them, it was the best gift that God could have given them, so it didn’t matter if they were boys or girls. They would love and welcome them all the same, so why not spice things up a little by leaving it as a mystery?
Yan Huan didn’t notice the increasingly glum look on the obstetrician’s face as she continued her work, a gloominess that hadn’t been there a few days before.
Halfway to the bathroom, Yan Huan made a U-turn and stopped by He Yibin’s office. She thought that she might as well say hi since she was already there.
Before she could knock on the door, she heard voices from inside. It sounded like He Yibin. She also heard her name being mentioned.
She twisted the doorknob and pushed it open gently, leaving a small crack from which she spied two sitting figures. Preoccupied with their discussion, none of them noticed her.
“What did you say?” Lu Yi stiffened, his dark eyes filled with trepidation.
“Like I said,” He Yibin found it hard to begin on the nettlesome matter. “There’s some complications with your double-yolk egg.”
“Complications?” Lu Yi clenched his fists. “Is the child in danger?”
“How should I put this?” He Yibin opened his drawer and took out a pile of medical reports. “Here’s the results of Yan Huan’s examination today.” He shoved the reports toward Lu Yi.
Lu Yi skimmed through the papers. They were filled with technical jargon, so there were some parts where he didn’t understand. He Yibin did his best to explain the situation to him.
“Yan Huan has received an ovary injury in the past, which you already know, and we never expected her to be able to bear a child. You two were lucky, but such luck doesn’t come by easily. This might be your only child in this life.”
Lu Yi nodded. He knew that already; but why did He Yibin bring it up?
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but…” He Yibin hated to beat around the bush too. Had this been someone else, he would cut to the chase already. But it wasn’t. This was Lu Yi, his best friend who grew up with him.
He straightened and leaned forward, putting his weight on his hand on the table.
“Yan Huan’s body could only endure the burden of one child. Things might seem okay now, but as the children grow bigger in size and greater in weight, they will impose a significant burden on her ovaries. If we don’t monitor the child’s weight closely, both mother and child could be in danger. The problem now is Yan Huan has twins. It might not be a big deal for someone else, but for her the burden is simply too great.”
“What do you propose?” asked Lu Yi. If he’s being this upfront about the dire situation, he must have something planned out.
“Well,” said He Yibin. “Abort one of the children. Only one can live out of the two.”
He reached out and gave Lu Yi a pat on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I can only save half of your double-yolk egg. If we don’t do this, both mother and children would be at risk.” A risk Lu Yi couldn’t afford to take.
“It isn’t your fault,” said Lu Yi. The words left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. “One is good enough.” He couldn’t put Yan Huan in danger. “We will be content with one children.”
He didn’t want to make that decision—those were his children, his treasure… How could a man abandon his own child?
But between Yan Huan and the child, he chose Yan Huan. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Yan Huan, even if he had to give up the chance of becoming a father.
“Is the operation safe?” he demanded. “I won’t allow any mistakes.”
“Rest assured,” sighed He Yibin softly. “The operation will be a hundred-percent error free. We will only be terminating one of your babies, so the other child would be fine. It’s safe for Yan Huan too. She’ll hardly even feel it.”
“Are you going to tell her?” asked He Yibin uneasily. Yan Huan was a stubborn woman, and he had no doubt she would protect her child even at the cost of her life. If Yan Huan decided on doing so, no one would be able to sway her.
Lu Yi hesitated before shaking his head. “Keep it a secret from her.”
He Yibin’s lips parted, but he couldn’t find any words to comfort his friend. In the end, he said nothing. There was more for him to do; he had to discuss the specifics of the operation with the obstetrician for the operation to happen sooner, while keeping it a secret from Yan Huan.
The door shut gently. Neither of them noticed the person standing at the door, eavesdropping their entire conversation.
Yan Huan returned to her hospital room and took out her phone. She browsed through the contacts, but finally realized that there was no one she could rely on.
She pressed her lips together and touched her tummy. Three months. Her babies were three months old. Without her knowledge, they had invaded her life. But did she have to part with one of them after knowing them for one month?
No, she couldn’t. She would have both of them in her tummy for seven more months. Even four months would give them a shot at survival.
How could she bear to abandon them?
