Why Is Life So Difficult
A newborn baby can’t be left without someone. Yet these two babies, aside from when the wet nurses were feeding them, would only be quiet then. At all other times, no one else was allowed to hold them or soothe them. Even Rong Ci, their own father, was no exception. They wanted only Su Jingyang. When they cried, only Su Jingyang could calm them down.
After returning to the city that day, Su Jingyang, with zero preparation, officially stepped onto the brutal road of raising babies!
Almost all his time started revolving around the children. Dressing them, bathing them, changing pee diapers and poop diapers, giving them water, patting out milk burps, coaxing them to sleep. It was all ridiculously trivial, fussy work, and he had to serve two at once. Su Jingyang, who had never touched any of this before, was completely overwhelmed. He wished he could split himself in half and use both halves!
Every time he saw them open their eyes, his heart would jump into his throat. He was terrified that the moment those soft, pink little mouths opened, they would start wailing again. Both babies were tiny, only that little bit, but when they cried, it was enough to make heaven and earth go dark!
This one cried, he had to coax this one. That one cried, he had to coax that one. If they cried together, Su Jingyang wanted to cry along with them.
On top of that, these two little demons seemed born purely to torment him. They were devilishly clever. At night, they insisted he hold them and walk them while coaxing. Sitting didn’t work. Lying down worked even less. He had to pace back and forth on the floor with them in his arms, and he had to make those sleep-coaxing sounds too, otherwise they refused to close their eyes.
They also refused to sleep in their own little cradle. They insisted on sleeping in bed with him.
If he placed them too far away, Su Jingyang was afraid he wouldn’t hear them move. If he kept them too close, he was afraid he would roll over and press on them by accident. He was in light sleep almost all night. Even when Rong Ci said he’d watch, Su Jingyang still woke up at the slightest odd sound. It became a conditioned reflex. In just seven or eight days, his whole person lived tensely, anxiously, and exhaustedly.
That still wasn’t the most torturous part. The part that truly tested a person’s mental fortitude was this. After spending close to an hour, going through countless hardships, finally getting a baby to fall asleep, there was the moment when he had to carefully set the baby down on the bed!
Su Jingyang felt like what he was holding wasn’t a little baby with an angelic sleeping face, but was a ticking bomb! He didn’t even dare breathe too hard. His whole body tensed as he bent down, moving with feather-light caution to place the baby onto the bed. Yet several times, before he even fully loosened his hands, the instant the baby left his embrace, those eyes would snap open. Two clear, dark, glossy eyes would roll around, lively as hell, thief-level alert!
Whenever that happened, Su Jingyang really wanted to perform an on-the-spot tongue-bite suicide.
Even if he got lucky and managed to set one down and keep him asleep, there was still the other one waiting to be soothed. A double trial!
After being put through it over and over, Su Jingyang completely lost his temper with them, in the sense that he no longer had any. He genuinely couldn’t understand it. They were babies who’d only just been born, so how the hell did they have no sleepiness at night???
For Su Jingyang, these days demanded the greatest patience he ever had in his life. Sometimes he felt it was too annoying, too suffocating. He was on the verge of a breakdown, ready to tear out a fistful of hair. But the moment he saw those two pairs of clueless, clear, round eyes, the anger that surged up would get forcibly shoved down again. All he could do was sigh and complain under his breath, while a helpless exhaustion rose in his heart. Who told you to give birth to them yourself?
He’d only been caring for them for not even ten days, yet he already understood a little what it meant to raise kids at home, and how hard it really was.
The system still thought he wasn’t annoyed enough and even mocked him halfway through. “This is all it takes for you to fall apart? I haven’t even made you wake up in the middle of the night to feed them yet. You should be satisfied.”
“...” Su Jingyang was too tired to even curse.
Rong Ci knew the children didn’t want him either, but seeing how Su Jingyang was suffering alone, seeing him lose a whole circle of weight, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to help. Su Jingyang, severely sleep-deprived and irritable, shoved him away and scolded him hard. “Don’t make more trouble for me. If you make them cry, I’ll have to coax them for half the night again!!!”
Su Jingyang’s temper had been fiery these days. Rong Ci didn’t argue even after being yelled at. His gaze quietly followed Su Jingyang as he held the baby and paced by the bed, coaxing him to sleep. Rong Ci let out a silent sigh. Every night, the hardest moment was always this one.
Su Jingyang carried Su Dafan, who reeked of milky baby scent, and paced a few more steps. He glanced toward Rong Ci. He regretted yelling the moment he’d done it, and he also remembered that Rong Ci still had internal injuries. Suppressing his agitation, he kept his face tense, but his tone eased a little. “You’re still injured. Just rest properly. I can handle them slowly.”
Rong Ci turned his eyes toward Su Xiaofan. Su Xiaofan was lying on the bed, pursing his lips and swinging his little fists, playing by himself. He wasn’t wet, he wasn’t hungry, and no one had provoked him. For the moment, he was peaceful. However, no one could guarantee what would happen later.
Rong Ci frowned, thinking, then said to Su Jingyang, “Your body also hasn’t recovered. You can’t keep enduring this. Tonight, send the children somewhere else.”
Su Jingyang was completely tangled up in baby matters now. He had no energy to argue with Rong Ci about all that stuff between them. His head was full of only one thing, how to get these two children properly subdued once and for all.
Hearing that, Su Jingyang immediately asked, “Will that work?”
Su Jingyang really wanted to sleep properly, but he kept thinking the system was messing with him. He was afraid this method wouldn’t work at all.
“Let’s try,” Rong Ci said. “They can’t keep clinging to you like this. How can your body withstand it? Let them cry. Once they know crying is useless, they won’t keep making a racket.”
“...” He was decisive, but Su Jingyang hesitated.
Actually, when the two children were well-behaved, their little appearance was quite endearing. Even though they were annoying more often than not, the moment he imagined throwing them aside and letting them cry their lungs out unattended, Su Jingyang’s heart cramped uncomfortably.
Still, after hesitating repeatedly, Su Jingyang finally agreed to try. Because if they kept going like this, it really wasn’t a solution.
While the wet nurses were feeding them, Rong Ci had them carry the children farther away. Su Jingyang’s ears finally gained some rare silence. He collapsed onto the bed, too tired to move. Even though he was tired as a dog, he strangely couldn’t fall asleep. He didn’t even feel relaxed. Instead, his mind was in chaos.
After zoning out for a while, he realized Rong Ci was massaging his legs.
Su Jingyang kept thinking it over and still couldn’t relax. He pulled his legs back and pushed Rong Ci with his hand. “Go check on them. Hurry.”
“The children have lots of people looking after them. Ling Li and Rong Hua both went to help too. I’m staying here with you.”
“What if they cry too badly?” Su Jingyang asked.
Rong Ci looked at him helplessly. “This is exactly when we can’t go soft. We have to cut off their expectations. Then you’ll be able to relax later too.”
Su Jingyang didn’t respond. After a daze, he suddenly dug at his own ear. “Did you hear that? Did you hear that? Is the baby crying?”
Rong Ci concentrated for a moment and didn’t hear any crying. He pressed Su Jingyang back down, covered him with the blanket, then leaned down close, so close their breaths almost touched. His eyes looked into Su Jingyang’s. “Stop thinking about it. Sleep first. Get some energy back.”
In the end, Su Jingyang couldn’t sleep at all. In less than a quarter hour, Rong Hua and Ling Li returned, completely helpless, carrying both babies back.
Su Dafan had cried until he was hysterical, his whole face flushed red. Su Xiaofan had cried so hard he choked on milk and threw up all over himself, reeking of sour milk. Their despairing cries stacked together and echoed through the entire hall. Anyone who didn’t know would’ve thought someone was viciously pinching them.
This was the first time Su Jingyang didn’t find their crying irritating. Instead, his heart twisted along with it. He hurriedly sat up, threw on an outer robe, and took both babies, one in each arm. Looking at their little faces, blotchy from crying, Su Jingyang knitted his brows. His chest felt heavy and tight, so uncomfortable it hurt.
Sigh. He should’ve known it would be like this. He might as well not have had them carried away. They just cried for nothing, and for what?
Rong Ci silently watched the two babies, who gradually stopped crying the moment they returned to Su Jingyang’s arms. He looked toward Rong Hua with a questioning gaze.
Rong Hua walked over, covered his mouth, and spoke softly to Rong Ci. “The shaman couldn’t see anything wrong. Also, your two sons are too strong. Hypnosis doesn’t work on them at all. They cried and vomited, it was terrifying. I was afraid something would go wrong, so I...”
Rong Ci’s brows tightened.
Li Yin had checked both babies. Their bodies had no problems. Rong Ci had checked too. There was absolutely no chance they had been hit by some evil technique, and now even the shaman confirmed there was nothing wrong. That left only one possibility, the babies were overly dependent on Jingyang. But how could this keep going...
Rong Hua patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. The kids stayed in Jingyang’s belly for so long. It’s normal for them to be attached to him. Maybe in a month or so it will be better.”
While the two of them were talking, Ling Li quietly walked over and sat by the bed, looking at Su Jingyang’s exhausted face.
Su Jingyang held the two babies, who were tired from crying. He lifted his eyes. Their gazes met for a moment, and Ling Li’s gentle, caring look instantly made Su Jingyang’s eyes sting. He almost cried.
Su Jingyang said bleakly, “A-Li, tell me... why is life so difficult?”
Ling Li had already tried every method he could think of, and he truly had no way to fix it. All he could do was look at Su Jingyang and comfort him softly. “Once they grow a little, it should improve. Don’t be too vexed, otherwise it will also be bad for your own health.”
Su Jingyang could only nod, his face full of worry.
That night, both babies had cried themselves tired. Su Jingyang didn’t have to put in much effort to soothe them. They actually both fell asleep. When Su Jingyang changed their clothes, he couldn’t even wake them up. He finally let out a long breath.
Before falling asleep, Su Jingyang seemed to have made some kind of decision. He said to Rong Ci, “From now on... let’s just do it like this. Don’t mess with the kids anymore. Anyway, it won’t kill me from exhaustion...”
Su Jingyang vaguely heard a sigh by his ear. He couldn’t even remember whether Rong Ci said anything. He couldn’t hold on anymore and fell asleep.
After another half month of adjusting, Su Jingyang got a little more practiced at caring for the two children. Still, he was exhausted. He lived in a constant state of wanting to sleep, really wanting to sleep, desperately wanting to sleep.
Rong Ci occasionally had various matters to handle and couldn’t always stay with him. Rong Hua and Ling Li, on the other hand, often came with Ah Xuan to visit him and the babies.
Whenever Su Dafan and Su Xiaofan were behaving and lying on the bed playing, Su Jingyang would have them help watch. Then he’d lie down beside the babies, close his eyes, and doze for a bit. If something happened, they could call him.
Ling Li was naturally happy to help him.
That day, Su Jingyang only slept for a short while, and he actually had a dream!
In the dream, he was disheveled all day, worked to death at home caring for two kids. He couldn’t even eat. Even going to the toilet had to be lightning fast. Rong Ci came back from drinking and socializing outside.
When the kids cried nonstop, he still wouldn’t help. Su Jingyang was so furious he cursed Rong Ci a couple times. Rong Ci flopped down to the side, lazily reading, and even said coldly, dripping with sarcasm, “I’m busting my ass outside. You don’t do anything and just sit at home taking care of a kid. What are you nagging about? Seeing you is annoying!”
Doesn’t do anything? Just taking care of a kid? Just???
Su Jingyang felt chilled and furious at the same time. He lunged over and slapped him several times.
Beat you to death, you heartless bastard! Can even say such words!! Beat you to death, beat you to death!!!!
Pa! Pa! Pa! The slaps were crisp, and terrifyingly real.
Su Jingyang woke up with a twisted expression. The instant he opened his eyes, he saw Rong Ci’s face close at hand, and the clear slap mark on his fair cheek. Su Jingyang froze on the spot.
Rong Ci sat upright and stared at him speechlessly for a moment then asked, “What kind of dream were you having? Punching and kicking like that.”
Su Jingyang pushed himself up. First, he looked at the two babies beside him and found that they had actually fallen asleep while playing. That was rare as hell! Su Jingyang was so moved he almost cried. He looked toward the bed’s edge again. Ling Li and the others, who had been here earlier, weren’t in the room anymore. Rong Ci must’ve come back, so they left.
Su Jingyang asked Rong Ci this time, “You knew I was punching and kicking. Why were you still this close?”
Rong Ci said, “I wanted to hear what you were grinding your teeth and yelling about.”
“...” Su Jingyang touched Rong Ci’s face with his hand, feeling a bit guilty. He honestly said sorry, but he still didn’t tell him what the dream was about, and he didn’t say what he’d been cursing.
“Sorry is enough?” Rong Ci pointed at the reddened cheek he had been slapped on.
Su Jingyang shot him a side-eye. “What? Not enough? You want to be hit again?”
Rong Ci said, “Stop pretending.” He wrapped an arm around Su Jingyang’s waist and pulled him closer. “Hurry.”
Su Jingyang snorted before leaning over to kiss the reddened face chu chu chu three times in succession. Rong Ci took the chance to hold him for a moment, pressed a kiss to the edge of his ear, then quickly guided him to lie back down again. He told him to take advantage of the babies not making trouble and hurry to sleep a bit more.
But Su Jingyang hadn’t had his eyes closed for long when his nose caught a scent. He turned his head and saw that Su Xiaofan’s eyes were still closed, lips pursed, as if he was secretly exerting force.
Su Jingyang lifted his little blanket and sniffed. Sure enough, the smell was coming from him.
There was no way he could sleep now. Su Jingyang sat up again, estimated the timing, and started cleaning him up.
Rong Ci wanted to take advantage of the baby sleeping to help, but Su Jingyang refused. He pushed Rong Ci’s hands away. He truly didn’t dare risk it. If he made the baby cry, it wouldn’t be worth it. Besides, it was just wiping a baby’s butt and changing a diaper. He could do it smoothly now.
When Su Jingyang finished, Su Xiaofan was awakened as expected. Those big eyes of his rolled around. When his gaze aligned with Su Jingyang, it stopped.
Seeing that, Su Jingyang reached out and picked him up. A warm, soft little bundle immediately settled in his arms. Su Jingyang gently pinched his nose tip and said, “Little thing, what are you staring at? Call me Papa!”
IsitRo: Stopp! The children’s nicks are hella funny. I can’t help translating it to small trouble and big trouble. lmao
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