Tears welled up in Erma's eyes. It was not because of the pain, but because she could clearly feel the man's feelings for her at this moment. She finally understood how much he really loved her.
The newborn baby emerged into the world as a beautiful girl.
Although it had been quite some time after the baby was taken out of the operating room, there was still no news of Erma.
Suddenly, the doctor rushed out of the operating room looking for Stan. "Mr. He, I'm afraid your wife has lost a lot of blood. We need to get her a blood transfusion as soon as possible. There isn't enough of her blood type in the blood bank. Can you find someone with blood type B…"
Without hesitation, Stan answered, "Doctor, I have the same blood type. Take as much blood as you need!"
"We must get to it at once!"
The doctor advised him to donate 300 milliliters first. If required, they would look for someone else with the same blood type.
Stan, however, refused.
That day, disregarding the doctor's dissuasion, he donated a total of 500 milliliters of blood and gave it to Erma.
A day later, Erma woke up.
When she opened her eyes to Stan's pale white face, she got worried. Instead of telling her the truth, he came up with an excuse of not being able to rest well enough the night before.
On the day Erma was to be discharged from the hospital, she overheard one of the nurses say, "It's clear how Mr. He feels about his wife. He gave her 500 milliliters of his own blood, without hesitation, after she suffered a massive hemorrhage from childbirth."
"500 milliliters? Oh my God, is Mr. He okay?"
"He's okay. Everything is fine except that he doesn't look very well. We tried to convince him to allow our colleagues to donate blood for his wife, but he didn't agree."
"What else could it mean? He obviously loves her too much! I am so envious of his wife."
Erma's lips trembled as she stood at the corner, secretly listening to the nurses. As it turned out, the reason why Stan's face was so pale was because he had donated blood for her.
The normal amount of a person's blood transfusion each time was 200 milliliters, no more than 400 milliliters. Stan, however, gave her five hundred milliliters.
When Stan found her in the room, he saw Erma staring out the window with a blank expression on her face.
The man came over and gently put his arm around her shoulder. "Hey you, what are you doing here? It's time for us to go home," he said in a soft voice.
She looked up at him, eyes glistening, and nodded her head. "Okay."
Since Stan's car couldn't accommodate too many people, his parents and the newborn baby girl sat in another car.
When they came out of the in-patient department, Stan's car was parked at the entrance of the hospital. At the back of the car was a printed label that read—"Property of Erma Huo".
She chuckled, while failing to contain her tears at the same time.
Stan assumed the worst when he noticed tears in her eyes and he quickly rushed to her. "Hey, what's wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable?"
Shaking her head, Erma sniffled back some tears and said, "I'm okay. Let's just go home."
Although Stan had sensed that something was off, the entrance of the in-patient department was hardly the right place to talk about private matters. He took her hand and helped her into the passenger seat before he sat himself behind the steering wheel. He decided to leave the questioning until they had reached home.
The young couple's home was a three-story villa. When they arrived, it was as if they had breathed new life into the place. Stan's parents and his grandpa were already there waiting for them. There were about five or six servants standing behind them, also eagerly waiting to see them.
Stan's mother held Erma's hand and led her inside, concerned as she spoke. "Erma, come in. I don't want you to catch a cold."
"Yes, Mom. Thanks." Erma followed her to the living room.
Stan's grandpa had a radiant glow on his face, mostly because he was able to hold and see his great-grandchild in his lifetime. "Erma, the gem of our family, sit and get some rest."
Stan's father held his granddaughter in his arms; he didn't want to let her go. His serious face was finally showing hints of joy. "How about going upstairs and lying down, Erma?"
Erma played with her daughter's hand and answered with a smile, "Thank you, Grandpa, Dad and Mom. Don't worry about me. I don't feel so tired right now. Besides, I had been lying in the hospital for more than one week. I just want to stretch my legs and walk around for a bit."
Stan, however, felt differently. He grabbed her hand and dragged her upstairs. "You need to rest for at least a month. After that, you can go anywhere you want. Until then, I don't want to see you out of your bed."
Erma hadn't made full recovery yet after she had lost a lot of blood during the delivery.
Luckily Erma didn't put up a fight and she followed him upstairs right after she politely greeted the elders.
Stan affectionately helped her get comfortable in bed. After making sure that she had everything she needed, he finally sat down on the edge of the bed and took out his phone from his pocket to show her some photos. "Here, have a look! I've already picked out a few spots for our daughter's one month celebration party. Which one do you prefer?"
She took the phone and swiped through some photos before she casually said, "Are we supposed to celebrate when the baby is a month old? Back home, we usually celebrate when the baby is a hundred days old."
"Well, if that's what you want, then we can throw a party when our daughter turns a hundred days old. I'm fine with that," Stan said.
"You know what, I'm not bothered by it either. Since it's a tradition here, let's just throw a party when our daughter is one month old," Erma answered casually.
After pausing to think for a while, Stan offered, "How about this? We can have a banquet after our baby is a month old and then later, we can throw a bigger party for all our relatives and friends when our baby is a hundred days old. What do you think?"
Erma smiled, but refused. "That's sounds too troublesome. Let's just throw a party for her in this hotel after she is a month old. Besides, I like the food from that hotel."
"Okay, I'll book the hotel in advance."
In the late hours of night, while Erma was already sound asleep with their daughter in her arms, Stan was still grinding away in his study.
Erma quietly slid out of bed, carefully making sure not to wake her daughter. She put on her slippers and walked out of the bedroom in search for Stan.
It was dark, but the light from the study escaped from the half-closed door and guided her inside where she saw Stan talking to someone over the phone. "I'll see if I can find some time, but I don't think I can go there the day after tomorrow. According to the weather forecast, there's going to be a rainstorm at night. You know how your sister hates the sound of thunder and lightning. I need to stay at home and keep her company when that happens. Don't worry, I'll come over when it's not raining. Now that I'm home, I need to be here with her."
Leaning against the door frame, Erma kept quiet while he spoke.
"You have to be here on my daughter's one month celebration party. Erma will be over the moon to see you. Don't let her down."
The whole conversation between Stan and Adkins took about ten minutes.
As soon as he put down his phone, he saw the silent woman leaning against door. He quickly stood up from his seat and walked up to her. "What happened? Why aren't you in bed?"
With a sweet smile, she answered, "I couldn't find you in bed, so I came here to see you."
"I just have a little bit of work to finish. I'll be done soon. Go ahead, I'll catch up with you," he said and kissed her on the lips.
Erma, however, nimbly walked past him and sat down on the sofa. "Sleeping is all I have been doing for the past two days. I've had enough of sleep. I'll just wait here. I'll be quiet, I promise! Carry on!"
Unable to dissuade her, Stan had no choice but to go back to his desk to finish the rest of the work.
The study had succumbed to silence, only to be interrupted from time to time by the sound of a man flipping through paper.
Sitting on the sofa, with her chin rested on her palms, Erma said softly, "I like you so much, Stan!"
The expression on Stan's face indicated that he was taken by surprise. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Only like?" He put down the pen in his hand and looked at the woman seriously. "I, on the other hand, love you from the bottom of my heart."
Happiness exploded in her chest as Erma stood up from the sofa, trotted to the man, hugged him and expressed her affection by saying, "Stan, I love you too!"
Stan brushed her hair with his fingers and looked at her with insurmountable love in his eyes. "You don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that. Just give me three minutes, I'll take you back to bed!"
"Okay!"
Erma had a relatively easy-going job, and there were people to help her take care of the baby. As such, she often accompanied Stan on his business trips around various parts of the world.
Stan would try his best to leave without telling her so she wouldn't insist on following him because he didn't want her to be stressed unnecessarily.
Unfortunately, Erma was always able to find him regardless. Whenever he had free time, she would surprise him with a visit.
In time, Stan came to realize and accept that it was futile to try and change this woman's mind. Much like Adkins, who was inseparable from his wife, Stan had to bring Erma with him wherever he went.
