Chapter 282: Gu Tingxiao’s Return
In the quiet, early hours of the morning, the heavy rumble of a military vehicle broke the silence of the compound. The soldiers deployed on the long-term covert mission had finally returned.
Sheng Wanze and Gu Tingxiao marched into the familiar courtyard. Hearing the commotion outside, Grandpa and Grandma Sheng hurried out of the house, their faces lighting up with pure, unvarnished joy the moment they spotted them.
“Xiaoze? Tingxiao?” Grandma Sheng gasped, taking a step back. She could barely recognize the two young men standing before her.
They looked as though they had just survived a refugee camp. Thick stubble lined their jaws, dark circles bruised the skin beneath their eyes, and their uniforms were caked in layers of dried mud. Their exposed skin was mapped with various cuts and abrasions; a sharp, deep scratch traced right across Gu Tingxiao’s forehead.
Grandma Sheng couldn’t begin to guess what had caused the injury, but she knew with absolute certainty that this deployment had been an incredibly brutal ordeal. She stepped closer, peering at them for several seconds just to confirm their identities, before the immense weight of anxiety she had carried for four months finally evaporated.
“Grandpa, Grandma,” Gu Tingxiao greeted them, his voice rough and scratchy.
He didn’t waste a single second, his heart completely fixated on his wife. “Xiao Gu,” Grandma Sheng interrupted quickly, sensing his panic. “Wanyan is already over at the military hospital preparing for delivery.”
The moment the words left her lips, Gu Tingxiao unceremoniously shoved his heavy duffel bag into Sheng Wanze’s arms, turned on his heel, and sprinted back toward the vehicle to drive straight to the hospital.
Sheng Wanze fumbled to catch the luggage, letting out a breathless laugh. Gu Tingxiao had been wound up like a tight spring throughout their entire journey home, terrified that he wouldn’t cross the gates in time. The moment they stepped off the transport train, Gu Tingxiao had pushed their vehicle to its absolute legal speed limit, treading the bumpy roads so violently that Sheng Wanze felt as though his spine had nearly been rattled to pieces. His muscles were swollen and bruised from the rough ride, and he felt lucky to have survived the trip.
“Grandma, did my sister already give birth?” Sheng Wanze asked, stretching his aching back.
“No, the specialist estimated her due date is tomorrow, but the contractions are highly likely to begin sometime tonight,” Grandma Sheng explained.
“Then I’ll head over to the hospital too.”
Sheng Wanze shifted his weight to move, but Grandma Sheng quickly caught his arm, wrinkling her nose. “You reek so badly you’d probably suffocate your sister the moment you walked into the ward! Go clean up first. Your sister and Tingxiao haven’t seen each other in months; give them some space without interrupting. Besides, Xiaoyue has been sick with worry over you for weeks—go inside and see your wife and son.”
Sheng Wanze nodded, realizing she was right. He turned and quietly slipped into his own house to greet his family.
Meanwhile, in the sterile hospital ward, Sheng Wanyan’s sleep was plagued by a deep restlessness. A dull, rolling ache rippled through her abdomen in sharp intervals, accompanied by a sudden, strange sensation of warmth spilling down her legs.
She bolted awake in shock. Realizing her water had broken, a shiver of panic ran through her, and she frantically called out to her mother-in-law, who was currently dozing on the folding cot beside her.
“Mom…” Her voice trembled.
Mother Gu woke instantly. Taking one look at her daughter-in-law’s wide, startled eyes and noticing the saturated blankets, she understood the situation immediately.
“My water broke…” Sheng Wanyan whispered.
“I’ll fetch the doctor right now!”
Mother Gu bolted from the room, sprinting down the corridor to the nurse’s station to call for emergency assistance. Mother Pan happened to be leading the night shift, and the moment she heard the alert, she rushed into the ward ahead of the others.
“The amniotic fluid has definitely breached, but her cervix is only dilated to two centimeters,” Mother Pan reported after a swift evaluation. “We have to wait out the initial stages. Prop her hips up with a firm pillow for now to keep the fluid stable. Mother Gu, make sure you get some food ready; she needs to build up her physical strength for what’s ahead.”
Mother Gu nodded rapidly. She had already neatly arranged a selection of sweet pastries and soft buns on the nightstand to ensure Sheng Wanyan wouldn’t face labor on an empty stomach.
“I’ll go alert the attending obstetrician,” Mother Pan added, hurrying out to finalize the delivery room logistics, fearing the labor might intensify without warning.
Left alone in the curtained space, Mother Gu gently wiped Sheng Wanyan’s brow. The sudden force of a massive contraction hit the young woman, forcing tears from her eyes.
“It hurts… Mom, it hurts so much…” Sheng Wanyan gasped, her entire body trembling as a wave of weakness left her limbs feeling completely hollow.
Mother Gu’s own heart gripped with anxiety, but she kept her voice smooth and steady, rubbing her hands to soothe her. “Breathe through it, sweetheart, slowly now. Don’t worry, the medical team will be here in a flash. Try to relax your muscles; you must conserve every ounce of energy.”
Sheng Wanyan understood the clinical logic, but the sheer intensity of the contractions made her feel as though her body were being physically battered. She forced herself to take deep, measured breaths, gritting her teeth against the pain until the wave gradually receded, allowing her body to slowly adapt to the rhythm.
“Mom, I’m hungry,” she murmured after a few minutes, the physical exertion draining her reserves.
Mother Gu immediately retrieved the container of fresh pastries, gently feeding her a few bites. A short while later, the duty doctor stepped behind the curtain to check her progress.
An hour had passed since the initial rupture, but the clinical indicators suggested she was still quite far from actual delivery. “It will likely be several hours before the transition stage begins. Family member, please hand the baby’s linens and newborn supplies over to the nurse so they can be transferred directly to the delivery room ahead of time.”
Mother Gu quickly organized the parcels and passed them through the curtain. By then, Sheng Wanyan was lying flat against the mattress, her hair saturated with sweat. She lacked the strength to shift an inch, feeling as though her physical form no longer belonged to her.
“Dilation is currently at three centimeters,” the doctor noted with a satisfied nod. “Keep encouraging the patient to eat small portions to sustain her stamina.”
Mother Gu nodded dutifully. In this situation, patience was their only option. Fortunately, after another hour passed, the blinding intensity of the initial contractions began to taper off, shifting into a predictable, rolling wave pattern that at least allowed her a moment to catch her breath between spikes.
“Wanyan, close your eyes and try to doze off if you’re exhausted,” Mother Gu suggested softly.
Sheng Wanyan nodded weakly. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy, but the lingering ache in her uterus kept her from slipping into a truly deep sleep. Seeing her settle into a light rest, Mother Gu remained rigidly by her side, monitoring her breathing. She retrieved a clean, dry towel and gently blotted the sweat from her daughter-in-law’s face and neck, hoping to make her rest a bit more tolerable.
Once Sheng Wanyan’s breathing evened out into a steady slumber, Mother Gu decided to stretch her stiff joints. She reached for the empty thermos on the table, intending to head down the corridor to fill it with hot water.
But the exact moment she stood up and pulled back the privacy curtain, she froze. Standing right outside the door of the ward, peering through the small glass pane, was Gu Tingxiao.
Mother Gu blinked rapidly, wondering if the sheer exhaustion of the night shift was causing her to hallucinate. But the rugged, broad-shouldered silhouette remained entirely real. Her third son had actually returned.
“Tingxiao?” she whispered, her voice cracking.
“Mom,” he responded softly, stepping into the room.
He looked completely weathered, exhausted, and caked in dirt; had she run into him on a city street, she would have mistaken him for a common vagrant. But as Mother Gu processed his physical presence, a wave of profound relief crashed over her. He was finally back.
“You’re finally home!” she breathed, her eyes welling with emotion as she stepped forward to grip his arms, looking him up and down to check for major injuries.
Gu Tingxiao’s gaze, however, bypassed her entirely, locking straight onto the closed curtain behind her. “Mom, how is Wanyan holding up?”
“Her water broke a couple of hours ago, and she just managed to fall into a light sleep,” Mother Gu explained quickly, stepping aside. “She could enter active labor at any moment. Go on inside and see her.”
Gu Tingxiao nodded sharply, stepping behind the curtain to sink quietly onto the stool beside the mattress.
He watched her features intently. Even in her sleep, Sheng Wanyan’s brow remained tightly furrowed, a low, pained whimper occasionally escaping her lips as her body weathered a contraction. It was glaringly obvious she was in immense discomfort. Gu Tingxiao sat perfectly still, his eyes never leaving her face.
Throughout the entire four months of his high-stakes deployment, his mind had been plagued by a constant, suffocating dread that he wouldn’t be by her side when she faced her heaviest hour. The desperation to return had consumed him, leaving him wishing he possessed the supernatural ability to simply tear through space to reach her. He had pushed himself to the absolute brink of physical collapse to cross the distance, terrified that a single delay would cause him to miss the arrival of his firstborn.
Thank the heavens, he had crossed the threshold at the absolute final hour. He hadn’t left her to shoulder the terrifying ordeal of the delivery room entirely on her own. Had he failed her tonight, he would have loathed himself for the rest of his days.
In the murky depths of her light slumber, Sheng Wanyan felt a strange, steady presence anchoring her room, as though someone were watching over her with intense devotion.
The moment her eyelids fluttered open and her gaze locked onto Gu Tingxiao’s face, the dam broke. Tears flooded her eyes, spilling over her cheeks in a silent, unstoppable torrent.
“Tingxiao…” her voice choked out, thick with emotion.
“Sweetheart… I’m right here. I’m home,” he murmured, leaning over the bed.
Sheng Wanyan buried her face against his sleeve, her sobs turning ragged as months of tightly controlled fear, vulnerability, and isolation finally collapsed. She wasn’t just crying because she had missed him; she was releasing the sheer weight of the terror, helplessness, and quiet panic she had forced herself to contain for four long months. Facing childbirth was terrifying, and deep down, she was a person who was profoundly afraid of physical pain. She was terrified of the medical risks, terrified of the stakes, and even more terrified that some unforeseen complication might harm the child in her womb.
She had spent months forcing herself to project a mask of unshakeable strength, but now that her anchor was home, she could finally let go.
Gu Tingxiao frantically reached up to brush the tears from her face, his heart twisting into a painful knot at the sight of her distress. “I’m so sorry, Wanyan… I’m so sorry I left you.”
An overwhelming wave of guilt flooded his chest; he felt like an absolute failure of a husband for allowing his pregnant wife to consume herself with worry over his safety while navigating the final stretch of her pregnancy alone.
Sheng Wanyan looked up through her tears, taking in the profound exhaustion etched into his features and noting a fresh, jagged gash raw against the back of his hand. She knew instantly that he had traveled through hell to reach her bedside. His uniform was torn, heavily soiled with field mud, and bore the distinct, dark stains of dried blood.
