Upon hearing this suggestion, Lu Qingxue's heart skipped a beat.
"Call your mom over?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"With just one person to take care of the babies and you, I simply can't manage everything on my own."
"Besides, there will probably be many more situations like the one just now that are inconvenient for me to handle."
"I never planned to keep the children a secret from my family anyway. Since we have to tell them sooner or later, we might as well do it now."
"Having an older female relative around will be much better for both you and the babies."
Logically speaking, this made complete sense, but Lu Qingxue was still extremely flustered.
Lin Feng could accept the children and take care of her without a moment's hesitation, but what about his mother? Would she look down on her for having a child out of wedlock, or even doubt the babies' paternity? Those online forums and message boards were full of stories about mothers-in-law giving their daughters-in-law a hard time during pregnancy, let alone in her specific situation!
Besides, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been a difficult problem since ancient times. Even if his mother accepted her, would the two of them end up fighting over other matters? Lu Qingxue's worries were written all over her face. The moment Lin Feng saw this, he understood and quickly added, "My mom has a straightforward personality. She doesn't like playing mind games and doesn't know how to anyway. She's very easy to get along with."
"Even if we do have a falling out, you still have me. I promise I'll protect you and the babies."
Lin Feng's words were like a breeze in March, instantly smoothing away the anxiety in Lu Qingxue's heart.
However, before she could say anything, Lin Feng—afraid she wouldn't believe him—continued:
"Don't think I'm just saying this off the top of my head to humor you."
"When you were in the delivery room, I was right there in the hallway."
"Other expectant mothers had husbands, parents, and other family members staying with them, but you... you were all alone."
With a guilt-ridden smile at Lu Qingxue, Lin Feng went on: "I even saw a pregnant woman climbing stairs through excruciating pain just to dilate, with cold sweat soaking right through her nightgown."
"Seeing those mothers made me truly realize what they mean when they say 'a woman goes through the gates of hell when she has a baby.'"
"That's why I feel that any real man shouldn't let you suffer any more grievances."
There was another sentence that Lin Feng kept to himself.
That was the fact that from start to finish, not a single member of Lu Qingxue's family had ever shown up.
It was highly likely that she had endured all the hardships of the entire pregnancy entirely on her own.
Lin Feng didn't know the full story behind what had happened.
All he knew was that Lu Qingxue had suffered far too much by herself.
Therefore, he truly and sincerely wanted to treat Lu Qingxue well. No matter how things ultimately turned out between them, at the very least, he wouldn't let her be wronged at this moment.
The utter seriousness in Lin Feng's expression suddenly stirred a sense of grievance deep within Lu Qingxue.
She lowered her head, suppressing the tears welling up in her eyes.
At the same time, she felt her emotional reaction was somewhat absurd—
Didn't she choose to have these children herself?
Why was she feeling hard done by now? Was it because... she felt like she had finally found something to lean on, allowing her to indulge in a little self-pity? Before Lu Qingxue could ponder any further, the baby sleeping peacefully beside them let out a loud cry—
"Waa waa waa—!"
When one baby started crying, the other couldn't be left behind, its little mouth instantly puckering up.
"Waa waa waa—!"
In an instant, all sentimental and melancholy thoughts shared by the new parents were wiped completely clean!
The two of them panicked and didn't know what to do with their hands and feet.
"What's wrong?!"
"Are they uncomfortable? Doctor! Doctor!"
After pressing the call button, Lin Feng and Lu Qingxue received a thorough scolding from the nurse who hurried over.
"I know you're new parents, but you shouldn't be this ridiculous, right?"
"Of course the baby is going to cry when they've pooped and it's trapped in their diaper!"
"Not only that, they'll cry when they're hungry, cry when they're bored, and cry when they want to sleep..."
The nurse looked at the two of them speechlessly:
"Don't panic when something happens. First check if it's one of the situations I just mentioned."
"Just smell it. Isn't there a poopy smell?"
"It's time to change their diapers."
Lin Feng leaned his head close to the older baby. Sure enough, a pungent odor hit him right in the face.
"..."
He sniffed the younger baby girl next. Ah, she smelled nice. Was she just set off crying by the little stinker?
Lin Feng was a bit uncertain. At that moment, Lu Qingxue let out an "ah" and said anxiously, "What should we do? We don't have any diapers or anything."
Fortunately, just then, the door was pushed open. Zhou Cheng walked in carrying a foldable stroller and loaded down with large and small bags:
"Bro Feng, I bought everything on your list."
The nurse looked at the three young people in the room and smiled. "It's fine to have helpers, but it's still better to call an experienced older relative. You can't just call the doctor for every little thing, can you?"
With that, she walked out of the ward.
Lu Qingxue bit her lip. "Lin Feng, I..."
"Let's soothe the babies first. We can talk about everything else later."
Lin Feng directly interrupted Lu Qingxue, then tore open a pack of diapers:
"Big treasure, Daddy is going to change your diaper now~"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Lin Feng froze awkwardly on the spot.
"How do you change a diaper again...?"
Lu Qingxue was stumped too. She had no idea...
Standing nearby, Zhou Cheng held up his phone and said weakly:
"Should I... look up a tutorial on my phone?"
"They always say moms lose their minds for three years after giving birth, but nobody ever mentions that dads do too?"
The moment he finished speaking, he received a rap on the head from Lin Feng: "You've never been a dad, you wouldn't understand."
Zhou Cheng: "..."
What an annoying line!
Before he could protest, Lin Feng pushed him toward the door. "Go check if the doctor has any other instructions."
He was kidding—he absolutely couldn't let his roommate look down on him! Otherwise, how was he supposed to be his godfather in the future?! Soon, the sound of a video playing echoed through the room—
"How to change a baby's diaper. First, clean the baby's bottom..."
Lin Feng stared at the screen with a solemn expression, looking far more serious than he ever had in class.
After watching the video, it was time for the hands-on phase, and he was sweating profusely as he silently recited the steps:
"First open the little tabs on both sides of the diaper... spread the baby's legs apart..."
"Huh? The video didn't say how much force to use for this step!"
"Is this okay?"
"Baby, please don't frown... Oh oh, don't cry, don't cry..."
Nearby, although Lu Qingxue was also nervous and worried, she couldn't help but want to laugh at Lin Feng's silly antics.
Actually, having a dad around for the children was still pretty nice...
Under Lu Qingxue's silent gaze, Lin Feng finally managed to change the older baby's diaper. Before he even had time to admire his handiwork, a quiet little fart slipped out~
Lin Feng slapped his forehead. Great, the sweet little girl had made a mess too.
This time, he was much more proficient—at least he didn't need to recite the steps out loud.
He washed the little girl's bottom clean with warm water, pulled open the tabs of the diaper...
The time it took Lin Feng to change the diaper this time was only half of what it took him for the older baby.
Once the diapers were changed, he laid the babies side by side on the bed.
The older and younger babies simultaneously wiggled their little bottoms and let out happy whimpering sounds.
"Mmh mmh~"
"Hing-ji~"
This soft and adorable sight instantly melted Lin Feng's heart.
Right at that moment, the system's prompt tone rang out in his mind: [Ding! Detected that the host has learned to change a diaper. System reward: ten thousand yuan in cash!]
The next second, Lin Feng's phone rang with a text message notification.
Without even opening it, he knew that the funds had been deposited into his bank card.
Before he even had a chance to look, Lu Qingxue spoke up: "Ahem! Um, Lin Feng, should we still call your mom over to give us a hand?"