Chapter 87: A Son is Like a Nuclear Weapon (Please Vote for Recommendations)
Guì County. Early morning.
Recently, Lu Kun had been so troubled that he was constantly scratching his head. What weighed on his mind wasn’t anything to do with his career, but rather matters of daily life.
Just a few days ago, Liu Liping had handed over the management of the little shop downstairs to Ma Zhaodi. With her newfound free time, she immediately placed the issue of having a child at the top of her agenda.
This was a matter of utmost urgency, like a fire at one’s eyebrows. Liu Liping was anxious, and so was Lu Kun. Why on earth was this happening? After nearly a year of diligent effort, why was Liu Liping’s belly still showing no sign of change?
It was truly maddening.
A man’s word should be as good as gold, each promise hammered in like a nail. Back then, Lu Kun had pounded his chest and assured Liu Liping that he would help her conceive a son again. But now...
“Wife, could you stop pacing around me? You’ve circled me so many times already!” Lu Kun was in a foul mood.
“Are you still up to the task? Your technique’s improved, but your aim seems to have gotten worse!” Liu Liping circled him, gritting her teeth.
Lu Kun’s face darkened, but he dared not retort. He knew that having a son was quickly becoming an obsession for Liu Liping.
...
Last night, Lu Kun had hesitantly broached the subject: “Wife, how about we just focus on raising our daughters, Da Ya and Er Ya, well? As for a son, perhaps we should just leave it to fate?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Liu Liping kicked him right off the bed.
Lu Kun: “...”
Of course. As if Liu Liping would ever agree to that. A son was like a nuclear weapon: you might never need to use it, but you certainly needed to have it.
...
Lately, Lu Kun had become a bit superstitious. “What’s going on?” he wondered. “Could it be that after being reborn, my luck has run out?”
He was burning with anxiety. How could he explain this, after promising Liu Liping they’d have another son?
“Sigh… I guess I’m just not the main character,” Lu Kun muttered to himself.
“What?” Liu Liping caught his mumbling and asked.
“Nothing,” Lu Kun replied, twitching his mouth and rolling his eyes.
The moment he finished speaking, Liu Liping took the opportunity to sit right on his lap.
“Hey?”
“I said, go sit over there. I’m having a smoke—I don’t want you breathing in second-hand smoke,” Lu Kun gently pushed her, pointing to the seat beside him.
“No,” Liu Liping refused without hesitation.
Lu Kun: “...”
Fine. Whatever makes you happy.
“Then sit still, and stop moving around!” Lu Kun said, his expression dark, as he tried to adjust Liu Liping’s position.
“You’re still moving!” Lu Kun’s eyebrow twitched hard. He simply stubbed out his cigarette and pressed Liu Liping into the seat, taking another seat himself.
Liu Liping: “...”
She looked at Lu Kun with a slightly accusatory gaze.
“Don’t look at me like that. Think about it—how many times have we tried lately? If you wear yourself out, it’ll be even harder to get pregnant,” Lu Kun said with a tinge of grief and indignation.
“Pfft!” Liu Liping’s expression instantly brightened.
“Who told you to refuse to go to the hospital for a checkup with me?” she said with a triumphant smile.
Lu Kun turned his face away. What a mess this was.
In these times, for a man to be seen getting checked for such things would be utterly humiliating.
Luckily, he already had two daughters. Otherwise, if acquaintances saw him at the hospital for this kind of issue, they’d think he was impotent.
“Fine, let’s go,” Lu Kun resolved. This couldn’t go on any longer. Better to get checked and see if one of them had a medical issue.
...
At the hospital.
The couple’s attire was exceedingly odd. Both were dressed in black; Liu wore a veil that covered half her face, and Lu Kun had pulled a baseball cap low over his eyes, staring at the ants beneath his feet again and again.
“Number six! Your turn—the handsome young man with the cap, hurry up!”
“Got it.” Lu Kun tried to lower his voice as he replied.
“I’ll go in first,” he said to Liu Liping, then hurriedly darted into the men’s urology exam room.
Inside sat an elderly man.
“Don’t be nervous, young man. Here, take this. Once you’re done, just come back,” the elderly doctor said kindly, looking every bit the part of an old-fashioned herbalist from a TV drama.
“Is...is it to collect urine?” Lu Kun asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.
The old doctor didn’t even lift his eyelids—he just nudged his reading glasses higher on his nose and said, “No, you know exactly what I mean.”
Lu Kun: “...”
Alright, he understood.
Lu Kun backed out slowly, leaving the old doctor muttering to himself, “Young people these days, no self-control at all. You think I can’t see through you just because you pulled your cap down low? Last time there was one wrapped up so tight only his eyes showed. My sharp eyes see everything...”
For some reason, Lu Kun found the old doctor rather unnerving. He didn’t seem like a doctor at all—more like some superstitious soothsayer.
...
After an entire busy morning, it was finally done. The results wouldn’t come out until next week.
Lu Kun sat on a swing beneath the banyan tree outside the hospital, waiting for Liu Liping to finish. It was winter now, but from the look of the hospital’s flowers and plants, there was no trace of the season. The banyan leaves were as lush and green as they were in summer.
“Whew—finally, you’re out,” Lu Kun said, pulling a pair of pink gloves from his pocket and quickly slipping them onto Liu Liping’s hands.
In An Gui Province, except for when the wind was strong, winters were generally not very cold. It had been quite warm when they left home in the morning, but the sky had turned overcast and a strong wind was now blowing. Lu Kun had bought the gloves earlier while stepping out for cigarettes, just in case Liu’s hands got cold.
Lu Kun pinched Liu Liping’s cheek, grinning. “Satisfied now? We’ve done the checkups—ready to go home?”
“Mm.” Liu Liping nodded happily.
The two of them walked down the street, which was nearly deserted.
“Why is there nobody out today?” Liu Liping asked, slipping her hand into the crook of Lu Kun’s arm.
Lu Kun’s lips twitched. “Maybe the wind blew them all away.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“I feel like you’re teasing me!”
Lu Kun: “...”
He felt as if, in this moment, he and Liu Liping had returned to their courtship days. They talked big about not caring who saw them, but their eyes darted around, half afraid of being spotted, half disappointed that no one was there to see.
The feeling was a little odd—like something both sour and sweet.
“What did you get checked for?” Lu Kun asked, searching for something to say.
“I’m not telling. What about you? What did you have checked?” Liu Liping replied, her tone half-proud, half-playful.
“You little rascal!” Lu Kun tapped her nose, then pulled her into his arms.
PS: Thanks to reader OLDBUDDY for the 500 coin reward.