In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 79: The Runaway Dad (4)

Since the grandsons were all in incubators at the hospital and there was no need to take care of her daughter-in-law during postpartum confinement, the old lady — who had braced herself for a tough battle — found herself suddenly with nothing to do. Finally free and idle at home, she now had the mood to start preparing little clothes for her five grandsons.

Meanwhile, at the postpartum center, Yang Ting’s mother stayed for another two days. Seeing how well her daughter was being cared for by professionals, her opinion of her son-in-law soared rapidly.

“Tingting, the service here is really great. How much does it cost per month?”

Yang Ting, who had been enjoying the pampering, winced painfully at the mention of money and answered bitterly, “After I got here, I asked the nurse again — turns out it’s more than a hundred thousand a month! My husband is really something…”

People often say that pregnancy shows you what kind of man you really married. Yang Ting didn’t know how true that saying was for others, but for her, she felt genuinely conquered by her husband.

Before, she used to think her husband was a big boy spoiled by his parents. Whenever they faced difficulties, she honestly wasn’t sure who would be the one holding up the family. But after going through pregnancy and childbirth with him, she realized — even if there were five little troublemakers to raise in the future, she had full confidence that she and her husband could handle it together.

As her mother, Yang Ting’s mom naturally also felt it was quite extravagant and couldn’t help but nag: “This is way too expensive! You should’ve talked some sense into your husband. Are you two planning to blow through all your money on this?”

Yang Ting, feeling wronged, said, “I did try to talk him out of it! But at first, he told me it was only thirty or forty thousand a month. I didn’t want to be nagged by my mother-in-law every day, so I agreed. How was I supposed to know he tricked me!”

After saying that, though still heartbroken about the money, she couldn’t help feeling a little sweet inside. Nothing made her happier than having a husband willing to spend money on her.

Yang Ting’s mom rolled her eyes at her daughter’s expression: “Still acting like a little girl? You’re already the mother of five!” “Moooom~”

Yang Ting acted cute, and Yang Ting’s mom couldn’t bear to scold her anymore. Instead, she patiently advised, “Talk to Xiao Sheng when you can. Tell him to be more frugal. Honestly, if circumstances had allowed it, your dad and I wouldn’t have agreed to you having all five babies. In the future, there will be hard times, you’ll see.”

With a sigh, Yang Ting’s mom dug out a bank card from her bag and handed it to Yang Ting: “Your dad and I managed to save up some money over the years. There’s three hundred thousand on this card. It’s not much, but it should help a little. Just remember — spend it wisely. Just the cost of formula for five babies is going to be brutal.”

Yang Ting happily accepted the card and vowed, “Mom, don’t worry. Once I go back to work, I’ll make sure to pay you back every cent of this retirement money.”

Yang Ting’s mom waved it off casually: “Your dad and I have our pensions. This money is for you now.”

Then, remembering something, she asked, “This booking is just for one month, right? You suffered a lot this time — make sure you rest well for another two months after you go home.”

Yang Ting froze at that question. She honestly didn’t know how long the booking was. Normally, postpartum recovery centers were booked for just one month. But knowing her husband’s spending habits, who knew what he might have done?

Feeling a little panicked, Yang Ting quickly grabbed the nurse who happened to be delivering a meal and asked urgently, “Miss Nurse, could you please confirm — did we book this suite for just one month?”

The nurse paused, surprised that the patient herself didn’t even know. Smiling warmly, she explained, “Your husband was worried about your health and specifically booked it for two months.”

Yang Ting: …

Qi Sheng, I really can’t count on you to save money!

“Uh, Miss Nurse, is it possible to cancel the second month now?”

The nurse, still smiling, replied, “I’m afraid not.”

Yang Ting had already guessed that would be the answer. Besides feeling “of course,” her heart just ached even more.

Yang Ting’s mother was also stunned by her son-in-law’s generosity. Staying two months here would cost over two hundred thousand — this kid, Xiao Sheng, really was…

Yang Ting’s mother didn’t even know what to say anymore. Thinking back, her son-in-law hadn’t been this extravagant before. Looking at her daughter, who had suffered so much this time, she felt a mix of comfort and silent heartache.

The mother and daughter continued eating the rich, exquisite lunch in a rather melancholic mood.

Meanwhile, in the hospital’s incubator, Qi Yuxi woke up in darkness. He couldn’t understand what had happened — he had only gone to sleep, so why was his whole body now weak, and why couldn’t he open his eyes?

Qi Yuxi thought he was having a nightmare. As someone who had once been the infamous schoolyard boss of Wei County, and now was a top fighter and worker on construction sites, Qi Yuxi hated this feeling of helplessness. He struggled to move, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape this powerless state.

Frustrated and helpless, Qi Yuxi was filled with curiosity about what exactly was going on.

The strangest thing was — he even felt sleepy? And before he realized it, he drifted back into sleep.

After this happened several times, Qi Yuxi slowly started getting used to it. After waking up for who knows the how many-th time, he finally began paying attention to his surroundings. When he did, he realized something was seriously wrong.

Because — he heard people talking. To be exact, two young women. At first, it was mostly one soft, gentle voice speaking, with the other sharper voice only occasionally humming in agreement.

Qi Yuxi listened closely to their conversation, and the more he listened, the more he felt — he was in a hospital. But why was he in a hospital?

Before he could dwell on it too long, the two girls unknowingly gave him the answer. Their work had already finished, and now, looking at the quintuplets in front of them, they couldn’t help but sigh.

“Can you imagine the pressure this family’s going to have? Five babies, and all boys! When I told my boyfriend about it, he was totally shocked.”

“Yeah, but you know, maybe their family’s doing pretty well. Remember, Mr. Qi booked the very best incubators at our hospital. Five babies — that’s two to three thousand a day, and they’re staying for at least a month. But Mr. Qi didn’t even blink when he paid. Doesn’t look like someone who has to worry about money.”

Qi Yuxi couldn’t even focus on what they said after that. His mind was a mess. Quintuplets? All boys? Qi?

Wait — what’s going on? Why did it all feel like it had everything to do with him?

Hold on — he was one of quintuplets. And they were all boys. And his last name was Qi.

Had he… been reborn?!

Qi Yuxi was completely shocked — but then suddenly realized something wasn’t right. The first few things matched, sure — but “best incubators”? “Two to three thousand a day”? Was this about his family?

No way. His family had been so poor they could barely afford food. He had dropped out after middle school to work — partly because he didn’t like studying and wasn’t good at it, but if their financial situation had been better, he wouldn’t have been forced onto a construction site so young.

Qi Yuxi couldn’t figure out what was happening. All he could do was listen carefully whenever he was awake. And as rare quintuplets, he and his brothers were often talked about — the more he heard, the more he confirmed: He really had been reborn back to his infancy.

Once he was sure, Qi Yuxi was overwhelmed with excitement and a sudden urge to cry. Thinking back on everything that had happened in his previous life, he swore to himself: This time, he wouldn’t let the tragedies repeat.

However, in his baby state, he had no control over his emotions. As soon as he made this fierce resolution, he accidentally made a noise — which immediately attracted the attention of a nearby nurse.

Seeing he had woken up, the nurse came over and teased him: “Good baby, don’t wake up your brothers!”

Qi Yuxi let out a little grunt. Big brother? They were all born on the same day! Just because the doctor pulled him out second, he had to be the second eldest?!

What kind of logic was that? He was obviously the healthiest and strongest — in this life, he was going to be the eldest!

Just after setting this grand ambition, he heard the nurse say: “Be a good boy, okay? When your daddy comes later, I’ll praise you first!”

Hearing this, Qi Yuxi internally rolled his eyes. Daddy? What’s that? Can you eat it?

If you can’t eat it, then get lost as far away as possible!

Originally, he wanted to cry in protest with the special might of a baby, but thinking about his younger brothers sleeping beside him, he kept quiet.

Forget it — what was the point of getting mad at a scumbag? If he woke up Little Five and something happened because he didn’t get enough rest, it would be a real problem.

Qi Yuxi remembered how Little Five had constantly fallen ill when they were little, and in the end, had caught a serious illness. Their family couldn’t afford to raise a sickly child, and he had watched helplessly as Little Five was taken away and never came back.

Thinking of this made Qi Yuxi unbearably sad. But wait — after so many days, why did the nurses always say that Baby Five was healthy during check-ups?

Were these nurses even professional? Were they just going through the motions?

At that thought, Qi Yuxi was instantly furious. If Little Five ended up in bad health again, not only would he make the scumbag pay, but the hospital staff wouldn’t get off easy either!

After making another round of fierce vows in his heart, Qi Yuxi couldn’t fight his body’s exhaustion anymore and finally fell asleep.

Days passed like this over and over. Qi Yuxi was so bored he was practically growing mold. Finally — he heard a piece of good news.

They were being discharged from the hospital!

Just as he was about to mentally cheer, he heard a nurse say: “Your daddy will come pick you up soon, little one. Excited?”

Qi Yuxi rolled his eyes again. That scumbag is coming? What a terrible piece of news.

Sure enough, when Qi Sheng and the people from the postpartum care center arrived to pick them up, the system inside Qi Sheng’s mind gave a new notification:

“Another one reborn?”

Qi Sheng glanced at the sleeping second baby. Sure enough, he noticed the trembling of the baby’s eyelashes. He smiled silently. Being reborn into a baby’s body must be rough.

Qi Sheng had booked two months at the postpartum care center — partly to let Yang Ting recover better, and partly to make sure the babies had professional care in their first month after discharge.

After transferring the five little ones to the center, Qi Sheng looked at their chubby, strong little faces and intentionally walked up to Baby Number Two to pinch his soft cheek.

This little guy was the healthiest of the brothers, and at this moment, he could already open his eyes.

Being touched by the person he hated most, Qi Yuxi was instantly furious — You scumbag! Take your hand off me!

Qi Sheng didn’t dare to pinch the baby’s delicate skin too much, but seeing that the baby had opened his eyes, he continued teasing him:

“Hey, little one, you can open your eyes now! Are you looking at Daddy because you like him?”

Qi Yuxi: … What kind of trash eyes are those?!

Thinking that maybe a baby’s glare didn’t have any real killing power, Qi Yuxi decided to spare himself the anger and simply closed his eyes again.

But Qi Sheng wasn’t going to let him off so easily, continuing to tease him: “Such a good baby, not crying or fussing.”

Qi Yuxi: You’re so annoying!

He was so mad he let out a little whimper, but he didn’t dare cry loudly — he didn’t want to wake his brothers.

Just wait, Qi Yuxi thought fiercely. I’ll definitely find a chance to cry loudly at you later!

Although he was a little puzzled about why they had been moved from the hospital to this place, Qi Yuxi decided to just observe quietly for now. At the moment, his heart was secretly full of excitement: Would Mom come soon?

As a child who had grown up without a mother, Qi Yuxi had always had countless fantasies about his mom.

He thought about the clear photo of her in his memory — What would a living, moving mom be like?