Chapter 135: Chapter 128: Three Photos, Two Words: Mine
Yin Shixiu watched without saying anything.
After Su’s father and mother came in the evening, the four of them started discussing names for the two kids.
Su Xiaomeng, full of confidence, immediately suggested, "The brother can be Da Long, and the sister can be Little Feng’er."
"...Shixiu, you’re cultured, you come up with something."
Su’s mother directly ignored Su Xiaomeng’s suggestion from the bed.
Su Xiaomeng blinked, "Da Long and Little Feng aren’t quite—"
Before she could finish struggling with the idea, Su’s father slapped his leg, "I’ve got it!"
Su’s mother and Yin Shixiu looked at him.
"Shuang Huang—"
"Su Chengji."
Upon hearing the pair of words, Su’s mother’s heart sank, and she glared at him with the kind of expression that said if you dared to finish that word, she would get him for it.
The word "dan" couldn’t come out, as Su’s father was harshly intimidated. He swallowed and changed his tune, "Shuang... how about Shuang meaning double happiness, and Huang... Huang as in Emperor! It’s great!"
Su’s mother squinted, just about to rebut, when Su Xiaomeng chimed in, "Good, Dad, these are well-picked!"
Xiaomeng didn’t connect it with "two-yolk eggs," and as for Yin Shixiu... he didn’t know the joke about "two-yolk eggs" and thought Su’s father’s picks were pretty good.
He then nodded, "Let’s go with Dad’s suggestion."
Su’s father felt delighted in his heart, "See, I picked well!"
Su’s mother was dumbstruck, wondering whether to say something or not?
Seeing her suggestion supported by her daughter and son-in-law, Su’s father paced proudly over to the crib.
"Shuangshuang granddaughter, Huang Huang grandson, wowee!"
He was so pleased with himself, reciting it over and over.
Su’s mother pursed her lips, still hesitating.
Shuangshuang did sound quite adorable, but what on earth was Huang Huang...
While double happiness had a somewhat auspicious implication, but Huang Huang...
Yin Shixiu noticed Su’s mother hadn’t spoken and couldn’t help asking, "Mom, do you think it’s not good?"
Su’s mother thought, Yin Shixiu is someone who can make decisions after all, and said, "I think the character for Emperor, Huang, isn’t good."
She said this, hoping Yin Shixiu would quickly come up with another nickname.
Su Xiaomeng looked at Su’s mother, "Why is it not good?"
Su’s mother raised her eyebrows at Su Xiaomeng, "For someone who’s studied Humanities, particularly Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, you should know, with China’s five thousand years of history, tell me if anyone associated with emperors ended well?"
Su Xiaomeng froze for a moment, thought about it, and there was indeed truth to it. Even those who ended well were like living with a tiger...
"Change the character."
Yin Shixiu suddenly suggested.
Su’s mother felt slightly relieved; anything was better than coming up with "Shuang Huang."
"Add the fire radical, Huang Huang... meaning bright and dazzling, radiant and splendid."
"Huang Huang... Xinghuo Huang Huang..."
Su Xiaomeng hummed the names, growing more fond of them with each repetition.
Su’s mother was filled with complex emotions.
Before she could say anything, Su Xiaomeng, with a face full of admiration, said to Yin Shixiu, "Yes! Let’s call them Huang Huang, Xinghuo Huang Huang!"
"Not calling them Da Long and Little Feng anymore?"
Yin Shixiu chuckled, teasing her.
Su Xiaomeng originally thought Da Long and Little Feng were nice, catchy, and immediately conveyed she’d given birth to fraternal twins.
But compared to "double happiness" and Zhu’s "Xinghuo Huang Huang," it seemed not quite as presentable.
"Hehe..."
She smiled at him.
She liked this Yin Shixiu, listening to him embedding the best hopes and wishes into their children’s names.
At this time, Su Xiaomeng truly forgot, forgot she’d once sworn she would leave the children to him after giving birth and have nothing further to do with them.
It wasn’t until a few days later, when she suddenly remembered, that she felt a chill down her back.
Since then, her heart hadn’t been at ease.
Especially after the stitches were removed, and the discharge from the hospital loomed closer.
Su Xiaomeng giggled and laughed, making friends with several nurses at the hospital. Whenever they came to do checks and rounds, they would have a little chat.
But no one was there to keep her company, especially when neither her parents nor Yin Shixiu were around.
She could only lie on the bed quietly, anxious.
The night before she was discharged, she lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
The next morning, when Yin Shixiu came to pick her up from the hospital, he noticed her eyes were a bit swollen, and he felt a bit uneasy.
After the doctor repeatedly confirmed her recovery was good, he finally relaxed, accompanied by Su’s father.
Yin Shixiu carried Shuangshuang, Su’s father carried Huang Huang, while Xiaomeng followed silently beside Yin Shixiu.
The first person to notice something was wrong with Su Xiaomeng was Su’s mother.
Su Xiaomeng’s personality took after Su Chengji, carefree, with any calculative thoughts being inconsequential.
So when she occasionally stared blankly or got absorbed while watching TV... or failed to react when both kids were crying...
Su’s mother started to worry...
After all, "postpartum depression" wasn’t uncommon among young mothers.
But then again, she wasn’t gloomy 24/7; at least in front of Yin Shixiu, she was still the same as before.
Thus, even Su’s mother felt a bit confused, not knowing what had happened to her girl in the past few days.
Just as she was about to ask Su Xiaomeng, she found that she seemed to have returned to normal.
No longer staring blankly, no longer showing that confused look, and the two children were more cherished than ever, as if she suddenly saw the light.
The baby’s full-month banquet was held at a five-star hotel in the city.
Not many people were invited, but Yin Meng flew in from Beijing with Shan Minglang.
Just one private room, enough for a table.
Before coming, Shan Minglang was very conflicted. He definitely wanted to see his uncle’s children in person, but... the thought of his aunt’s parents left him uneasy.
Every time he recalled Su’s father and Su’s mother bursting into the Yin Family, saying a couple of words and leaving with Su Xiaomeng like that, he felt both fearful and deeply impressed.
Fortunately...
"Xiao Yin’s nephew? Handsome indeed, but he looks familiar... hahaha, don’t be shy, eat more!"
Su’s father didn’t remember him!
"Um, uncle, I won’t hold back."
Shan Minglang’s voice was clear, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a sunny and handsome type that was very likable.
Su’s mother, of course, wasn’t as forgetful as Su’s father, who seemed to have forgotten the looks of the person who troubled their daughter after a while!
Xiao Meng could resemble him in everything, except she feared she would forget past pain too quickly like him.
"Who allowed you not to hold back?"
Upon hearing Shan Minglang say that, Su Xiaomeng immediately glared over fiercely.
Shan Minglang quickly tried to please, "Aunt, you’re still holding a grudge?"
Su Xiaomeng, with a cold face, pointed towards the two babies in the crib, "Aren’t they cute?"
"...Yes, of course!"
"They almost died at your hands."
Even with Shan Minglang’s thick skin, he felt a bit uncomfortable at this...
He got up and silently walked to the crib, looking at the almost identical babies inside...
The more he looked, the more emotions filled his heart...
Cute, truly cute! They looked like little round balls...
And almost died because of him, the thought sent a shiver down his spine.
It was only after Yin Meng persuaded him for a long time that Shan Minglang was able to sit down and eat comfortably.
Su Xiaomeng wasn’t trying to dwell on the matter, but hearing about Shan Minglang inevitably brought back memories of that time.
But if you wanted her to seriously retaliate against Shan Minglang, at least now, she had no such thought.
Especially since... she understood in her heart that Shan Minglang might not be a bad person, just a young man who made mistakes out of immaturity.
He just hoped that Yin Shixiu could have a better, more deserving wife...
What surprised Su Xiaomeng was that after the meal, Shan Minglang took a wrapped gift box from his backpack and handed it to her, "Aunt, my brother went to the army. After consulting with him on the phone last week, we decided to give this to the little brother and sister."
As Shan Minglang spoke, his face flushed.
Su Xiaomeng glanced at the gift box, opened it to find a jewelry box inside, and when she opened it, there were two pairs of exquisite silver bracelets...
"This... is not expensive, but these were given to us by our grandparents when my brother and I were born."
Su Xiaomeng was slightly stunned, then looked up at Shan Minglang.
"Aunt, I haven’t made any money yet, using family money to buy gifts for the little brother and sister feels meaningless, so..."
Shan Minglang was actually very nervous; silver bracelets weren’t any kind of expensive gift. What couldn’t his uncle afford?
He was a bit worried the aunt might disdain it...
But he was also eager to express his apology and offer his best wishes for the little brother and sister.
"You and your brother’s?"
"...Yes."
Shan Minglang nodded.
"Given by your grandparents?"
Su Xiaomeng asked again.
Shan Minglang hesitated for a moment, then nodded again.
Su Xiaomeng raised an eyebrow, "You know I don’t have a good relationship with your grandparents, right?"
Shan Minglang felt a thump in his heart...
Seeing his face stiffen, Su Xiaomeng’s cold expression suddenly changed, smiling with narrowed eyes at him, "But these two pairs of bracelets are adorable, I really like them."
"Thank you, little nephew!"
Shan Minglang blinked, then watched as Su Xiaomeng put the silver bracelets on Shuangshuang and Huang Huang’s ankles.
He didn’t know... if this meant Su Xiaomeng accepted his apology.
But seeing the bracelets he and his brother once wore now on the ankles of the little brother and sister made him very excited.
After the full-month banquet, Yin Meng and Shan Minglang went to stay at a hotel.
Yin Shixiu drove Xiao Meng and the kids home.
Xiao Meng couldn’t hold both children alone, so Huang Huang went with Su’s father in his car.
On the way, Su Xiaomeng was very quiet, which was unusual for Yin Shixiu.
"What’s wrong? Tired?"
"No."
Su Xiaomeng gently caressed the silver bracelet on Shuangshuang’s ankle, carved with dragon and phoenix patterns, very vivid and exquisite.
The full-month banquet... was also over.
"Then why so low-spirited?"
The car stopped at the traffic light, during the wait, Yin Shixiu reached out to touch Su Xiaomeng’s forehead...
Su Xiaomeng turned her head away, "I’m not sick, let’s go home quickly, maybe I’m just a bit tired."