Along with the cheers of the two brothers came the loud cries of a newborn baby.
"Old Huo, did you hear that? She gave birth! My wife just gave birth!"
"Yeah, I heard." Huo Tingzhou was genuinely happy for his friend.
Xiao Zhengjun, overcome with excitement, scratched the back of his head vigorously before swiftly pushing open the door.
When the two men stepped out, they found the two boys—one pressing his ear against the door and the other sprawled on the floor like a gecko, peeking through the crack.
Xiao Zhengjun couldn’t help but feel both exasperated and amused.
He stepped forward and knocked lightly, his face a mix of paternal joy and spousal concern.
"Meili, how are you feeling?"
Hu Meili panted heavily, her voice thick with exhaustion.
"I... I’m alright... but damn, I’m wiped out..."
"Listen... after this one, I’m never... ever doing this again."
"No more, no more!"
Xiao Zhengjun had already decided—once he returned from his next mission, he’d go straight to the hospital for a vasectomy.
He’d already consulted Elder Liang about it. The procedure was outpatient, and the resulting scar wouldn’t interfere with flight safety, so it didn’t require layers of approval.
All he needed was to file a report with the division.
Just then, Hu Meili’s voice rose again. "Doctor Jiang, is it a girl or a boy?"
Doctor Jiang was busy cleaning the baby of amniotic fluid and bloodstains, so it was Jiang Si who answered.
"Congratulations, sister-in-law! You’ve got a healthy baby girl! Everything’s fine, don’t worry."
Jiang Si didn’t lower her voice, so everyone inside and outside the room heard clearly.
Xiao Zhengjun was so thrilled he could barely string words together. "Old Huo, did you hear that? My wife gave me a chubby little girl!"
Hearing she’d had a daughter, Hu Meili burst into laughter—only to wince as the movement tugged at her stitches.
Doctor Jiang turned and handed the swaddled bundle to Jiang Si.
The newborn was soft as cotton, and Jiang Si held her gingerly, afraid to squeeze too hard.
"Comrade Hu has a minor tear. I’ll disinfect it now. Comrade Jiang, could you step out and share the good news with Regimental Commander Xiao and the others?"
"Sister-in-law, I’ll go out first then."
Hu Meili was too drained to speak, so she simply nodded with a tired smile.
Soon, the door opened.
Jiang Si emerged, cradling the baby.
"Congratulations, Brother Xiao. Sister-in-law gave birth to a daughter. Both mother and child are doing well."
"Wahhh—I have a little sister!"
Little Second Son leaped up in excitement, immediately stretching out his hands. "Aunt Jiang, can I hold her?"
Eldest Boy stayed silent, but his desire to hold his sister was just as strong.
But with Xiao Zhengjun standing there, neither of them stood a chance.
"She’s still too small. You can hold her when she’s a bit older."
With that, Xiao Zhengjun carefully took the baby into his arms.
This wasn’t his first time as a father, but the feeling of having a daughter was entirely different from having sons.
"Old Huo, look—this is my daughter! I have a daughter!"
He gently bounced the baby in his arms, cooing, "My sweetheart, my precious."
Huo Tingzhou was practically green with envy, though his expression remained stoic.
"Yeah, well, in three months, I’ll have a daughter too."
Xiao Zhengjun, ever the instigator, grinned. "Not necessarily. You might end up like me—stuck with two boys!"
Huo Tingzhou clenched his jaw and shot his friend a look.
Now he knew exactly where Little Second Son got his personality from.
Too absorbed in his newfound joy, Xiao Zhengjun remained oblivious to the fact that he’d just nearly provoked his best friend into an early grave.
Instead, he kept gloating. "Old Huo, look at my chubby little girl. Isn’t she beautiful?"
"That nose! Those lips! She’s the spitting image of her mother."
"Dad, I wanna see my sister too!" Little Second Son was practically vibrating with impatience.
"Alright, alright—but just looking, no touching! And don’t you dare poke her little face with those grubby fingers, or she’ll drool forever!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Little Second Son nodded rapidly.
They’d gone over this a million times already. His ears were about to fall off from hearing it.
Eldest Boy, however, tilted his head in confusion. "Dad... who’s Honghong?"
"Yeah, who’s Honghong?" Little Second Son echoed, finally catching on.
"Are you two seriously this slow?"
Xiao Zhengjun never took his eyes off his daughter. "Honghong is our little treasure, of course."
"I’ve decided! Her full name will be Lu Weihong, and her nickname is Honghong. What do you think? Doesn’t it sound perfect?"
He was utterly pleased with himself.
But Little Second Son promptly doused his enthusiasm.
"No, it’s not perfect. It’s not good at all!"
Eldest Boy also thought the name wasn’t great—and he had reasons to back it up.
"Dad, there are six Honghongs in the family compound. If we call out 'Honghong,' won’t a whole bunch of them come running?"
"Exactly, there are so many Honghongs, it’s hard to tell who’s who."
Xiao Zhengjun paused for a moment. That was true.
"How about Zhuzhu, then?"
Jiang Si nearly lost control of her facial expression at the suggestion.
Huo Tingzhou also frowned. "Are you sure about that?"
"Of course! It sounds lovely, just like our precious little treasure."
The Eldest Boy couldn’t hold back any longer. "But 'Xiao Weizhu' sounds like 'Xiao Feeds Pigs.' When our sister goes to school, she’ll get teased with nicknames."
Xiao Zhengjun choked up—no, Zhuzhu wouldn’t do.
"Let’s not rush the name. I’ll think about it more carefully later."
The Little Second Son, never one to learn his lesson, chimed in, "Dad, don’t bother."
"What do you mean?"
What else could he mean?
The Little Second Son stated the obvious: "What our sister’s named isn’t up to you, or me, or Eldest Boy. Instead of wasting time thinking of names, you’d be better off washing more diapers."
"Heh—" Xiao Zhengjun was genuinely amused now.
Just look at the fine son he’d raised.
"Enough out of you."
He didn’t want to resort to violence on such a happy day.
Xiao Zhengjun sighed. "Are you two going to keep looking at her or not? If not, I’m taking your sister back inside."
Their precious little girl had been opening her mouth repeatedly—maybe she was annoyed by the noise or just hungry.
Hearing this, the brothers quickly spoke up.
They wanted to see their sister.
Seeing their eagerness, Xiao Zhengjun sat down on a stool.
The two boys immediately crowded around him, one on each side.
Xiao Zhengjun’s heart melted. "Well? Isn’t your sister beautiful?"
The brothers hesitated at the question.
After a moment of silence, they glanced down at the wrinkled little face in the swaddle.
Well…
Their sister didn’t look quite how they’d imagined—not plump and fair-skinned.
In fact, she kind of resembled a kindly old granny.
After a pause, the Eldest Boy asked, "Will she get prettier later?"
"Absolutely!"
Xiao Zhengjun laughed. "All newborns look like this. She’ll grow into her looks soon enough."
"Look at how long her eye creases are—she’s definitely going to have big eyes."
"That’s good." The brothers sighed in relief.
Then they began gushing over their sister, chattering nonstop about how wonderful she was.
Watching the family’s heartwarming scene, Jiang Si hooked her finger around Huo Tingzhou’s.
"Let’s go back."
