Bai Zhi's fingers suddenly tightened, her nails scratching a faint mark into the bedside. Chen Wuya had been looking down at the gently rising curve of her lower belly when he heard a stifled groan and immediately looked up.
"What is it?" he asked, his voice still carrying the lightness from teasing the baby moments ago.
Bai Zhi did not answer. She merely bit down on her lower lip, her breathing turning short and rapid. A fine sheen of sweat beaded on her forehead, and her neck tensed as though she were enduring something surging up from deep within. A moment later, the force passed. She slowly loosened her hand, her fingertips trembling faintly.
"It hurts..." she finally said. Her voice was soft, yet it made Chen Wuya's heart sink.
He sprang to his feet, knocking over the chair and sending it crashing dully into the wall. He did not stop to pick it up. In a few strides, he rushed to the bedside, crouched down, and seized her hand. "Is the baby coming? Now?"
Bai Zhi nodded, then shook her head. "Not that quickly... But the contractions have started. Each one is tighter than the last."
Chen Wuya swallowed. He remembered reading those words in books, but hearing Bai Zhi say them now, they cut at him like knives. He turned and ran to the corner of the room, bringing over the hot water he had prepared long ago. The cloths were neatly folded beside the wooden basin, while the scissors had been boiled in water and left to dry on a clean porcelain plate.
He reached for a cloth to wet it, but his hands shook beyond his control. The cloth slipped once. He picked it back up, and it slipped again. The third time, he simply clenched