294: Chapter 294 Changes in Pregnant Women in Labor

The cry of hunger was short and powerful, the cry of a wet diaper was long and carried a sense of grievance, and the cry of sleepiness was intermittent, sometimes loud and sometimes soft, as if it were debating with itself whether to sleep.

She had even learned how to change diapers; although her movements were slow, she was very meticulous, following every step strictly according to the standards taught by Aunt Qing.

Once, when Qin Lin passed by Su Yuling's room, he saw her changing Qin An's diaper.

Qin An's two legs were lifted in mid-air, like a little frog flipped over, with a bewildered expression.

Su Yuling kept her head down, holding a new diaper in her hands, comparing the front and back.

"Check the front and back, the adhesive tape goes in the back." Qin Lin reminded her from the doorway.

Su Yuling looked up at him, then looked down at the diaper in her hands, adjusted the orientation, and secured it.

"Brother Lin, look, did I do it right?"

Qin Lin walked in, took a look, and nodded: "Right."

Su Yuling secured the sides of the diaper, pulled down Qin An's little clothes to cover his belly, then picked him up and kissed him on the forehead.

"There, all clean. You're comfortable now, right?"

Qin An yawned and didn't cry.

Su Yuling held him, walked a few steps in the room, looked up at Qin Lin, and smiled.

"Brother Lin, am I not amazing?"

Qin Lin looked at her; her posture while holding Qin An was already very proficient, the curve of her arm fit the baby's body perfectly, and the warmth of her palm was transmitted through the small blanket.

"Very amazing."

Su Yuling smiled even more happily, looked down at Qin An, and whispered: "Did you hear that? Brother Lin said I'm amazing."

The The Ark continued to fly north.

The flight time had been shortened to four hours a day, with the rest of the time spent resting in Peach Blossom Spring.

The expectant mothers' due dates were getting closer and closer; with each passing day, they were one day closer to the arrival of new life.

Han Qing gave the expectant mothers a check-up every afternoon.

Fetal heart rate monitoring, fundal height measurement, blood pressure measurement—every step was done meticulously.

She drew a due date countdown chart on a whiteboard, using magnets of different colors to mark everyone's due date.

Red was for Su Yuran, who had already given birth; orange was for Lin Wanwan, with two weeks left; yellow was for Han Yurou, with three weeks left...

Under each magnet, a tiny baby icon was drawn; the further to the left, the larger the icon, because the due date was closer.

Qin Lin reached out and took her hand.

Han Qing's fingers were cool and slender.

"Aunt Qing, thank you for your hard work."

Han Qing looked at his hand, did not pull back, and did not speak.

After a few seconds, she turned her hand over, letting his palm press against hers, interlaced her fingers with his, squeezed, and then let go.

"It's nothing; it's just delivering a baby, isn't it? I've been a doctor for so many years, what haven't I seen?"

Her tone sounded very relaxed, but Qin Lin noticed that while she was speaking, she moved the record book on the table inward, aligning the edge of the book with the edge of the table.

She was nervous.

Qin Lin did not point it out.

When Li Ying saw that countdown chart, she was uncharacteristically quiet for a few seconds.

"Four more weeks?" She touched her belly, "Why do I feel like it's soon?"

Han Qing glanced at her: "Your physical condition is good, it might be early, but whether it's early or late, the equipment in the Medical Room is on standby at all times."

Han Yurou had been particularly clingy to Qin Lin lately.

It wasn't the secretive kind of clinginess, but an open, righteous, and "I wish the whole world knew" kind of clinginess.

When eating, she had to sit next to Qin Lin; when reading, she had to lean on Qin Lin's shoulder; when taking a walk, she had to hold Qin Lin's hand.

When Qin Lin went to the Bridge to check the flight route, she followed behind with her big belly, not walking fast, but following very closely.

When Qin Lin sat down in the command chair, she sat down in the co-pilot seat next to him, placed her hands on her belly, and looked at Qin Lin.

"Aren't you going to chat with them?" Qin Lin asked her.

Han Yurou shook her head: "I went, they were all talking about giving birth, and I got scared listening to it."

Qin Lin looked at her belly, round and plump, already very big.

"What are you afraid of?"

"Afraid of the pain." Han Yurou's voice was muffled.

Qin Lin thought about it and didn't deny it, because it would indeed be very painful.

"But Aunt Qing is here, and the The Ark's monitoring System is here, so nothing will go wrong."

Han Yurou pressed her face against Qin Lin's arm, like a small animal seeking comfort.

"Brother Lin, who do you think the baby will see first after it's born?"

Qin Lin thought about it: "It should be Aunt Qing, she's the one delivering the baby."

Han Yurou pouted: "Then that means the first thing it sees isn't me? I gave birth to the baby, the first thing it sees isn't me, but my mother?"

Qin Lin was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Han Yurou tapped him lightly on the arm.

Qin Lin did not answer.

Han Yurou thought about it herself and suddenly said: "Brother Lin, when the time comes, you stand by my side, so the baby sees both of us first."

Qin Lin looked down at her; there was light in her eyes, very serious.

"Okay."

Han Yurou smiled and buried her face back into his arm.

After a few seconds, her voice came out muffled: "Brother Lin, do you think the baby will be ugly when it's born?"

"No."

"You're lying. Newborn babies are all ugly. Look at Qin An, when he was just born, he looked like a little old man."

Qin Lin thought about it; Qin An was indeed wrinkled when he was just born, like a little old man.

"It will look better once it grows into its features; you were like that when you were little too."

Han Yurou looked up and glared at him: "How do you know what I was like when I was little?"

"Aunt Qing told me."

Han Yurou buried her face back in.

Han Qing didn't know when she had arrived at the Bridge entrance, leaning against the doorframe, holding a cup of tea in her hand.

She watched all this expressionlessly, then turned and left.

Before leaving, she dropped a sentence: "Come out when you're done with the check-up, don't disturb Qin Lin while he's flying the ship."

Han Yurou pouted: "The The Ark is on autopilot, he doesn't need to fly it."

Han Qing didn't look back, her voice drifting from the corridor: "Then don't disturb him either."

Qin Lin laughed.

Xu Xue's due date was two weeks later than Han Yurou's.

She hadn't been painting lately, and instead took walks in the Ecological Plantation every day.

The Ecological Plantation was on the north side of the The Ark's first level. After the upgrade, it had nearly doubled in size and added a climate simulation area, which could simulate the temperature and humidity of different seasons.

Xu Xue set the climate simulation area to autumn mode: 18 degrees temperature, 60 percent humidity. The golden yellow projection of ginkgo leaves sprinkled down from above, falling on the ground; stepping on them made a "rustling" sound.

Xia Qiuyan accompanied Xu Xue the whole time.

She walked on Xu Xue's right side, keeping her pace in sync with Xu Xue's, neither fast nor slow.

When Xu Xue got tired from walking, she helped her sit on a nearby bench, took a thermos from her pocket, and poured a cup of warm water to hand to her. While Xu Xue drank the water, she sat beside her, looking at Xu Xue's profile, without speaking.