This time, Xia Xiao’s belly was almost as big as when she was carrying Feiyang and Feiyue. Now that she was about to give birth, Xia Xiao walked very slowly, sometimes even needing support, and everyone helped take care of Feiyang and Feiyue. "Xia Xiao, are you carrying twins or triplets this time?" Dong Meihua asked. "Just one," Xia Xiao said. This time she actually asked Shitou. Xia Xiao already had two sons and now she just wanted a daughter. But this pregnancy felt similar to when she carried Feiyang and Feiyue—Xia Xiao thought it was twins again, but after asking Shitou, it turned out to be just one. "Just one? That’s impossible," Li Xiaoyan and the others couldn’t believe it. Xia Xiao just smiled slightly and didn’t explain further, "You’ll see when it’s born." Rubbing her belly, Xia Xiao thought if it’s a daughter, she would definitely be a chubby little girl. She hoped the baby would look like her rather than Gao Jiaxing. If the child inherited Gao Jiaxing’s tall and sturdy build, Xia Xiao didn’t even want to think about it. "What are you thinking about?" Mu Xingzhi asked Xia Xiao while holding her daughter. Xia Xiao replied, "I am wondering if my daughter in the belly will look like me or Gao Jiaxing." The moment Xia Xiao said this, several Military Wives laughed, "She’ll definitely look like you. Even if she looks like Platoon Leader Gao, it’s okay; not every man cares about looks." That comment didn’t comfort Xia Xiao. Even in her dreams at night, she dreamt her daughter looked like a teenage Gao Jiaxing. "How do you know it’s a daughter? Your belly looks pointy like it’s a son," Xu Chunhua remarked confidently. Xia Xiao laughed and said, "That’s not necessarily true. Whether the belly is pointy or round, or if it’s a boy or a girl, you can’t really tell." "But most of the time it’s accurate." Xu Chunhua still strongly believed in this. Everyone was getting pregnant one by one on the island, and Xu Chunhua’s guesses were right more than half the time. Xu Chunhua, having been injured while giving birth to her youngest daughter, was the only one whose body was still recuperating while everyone else on the island was having babies. Over the years, everyone on the island had formed close relationships. Dong Meihua stayed out of trouble, and Xia Xiao didn’t hold onto past grievances. Life on the island could be self-sustaining, but it was not always peaceful with several typhoons each year; sometimes the thunderstorms with lightning were terrifying. The climate was very unstable, so sometimes the hard-grown crops would be destroyed by a major storm or typhoon. Even with warnings from Shitou, crops that hadn’t matured couldn’t be harvested early. So Xia Xiao and the others stopped growing anything except vegetables and sweet potatoes, which were easier to grow. Also, the island was very sunny, with long summers and short winters. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it felt like spring all year round. Xia Xiao and Feiyang and Feiyue were doing well, but this year, Feiyang and Feiyue, being five years old and full of energy, played with Xu Chunhua’s daughters, Yang Yumei and Yang Yulan, and Yu Youwei’s son, Yu Guang, all tanned like little black dolls. Xia Xiao eagerly awaited every day. Sometimes she felt the days passed very quickly, but sometimes the days felt too slow. Gao Jiaxing and the others were learning to fly airplanes, drive tanks and trucks, and were trained in cannons, firearms, and ammunition. They didn’t just talk about how much the soldiers in the military loved and were passionate about it, Feiyang and Feiyue were extremely happy and excited. Once Gao Jiaxing and the others got involved, they became fascinated, just as fervent and obsessed as those later generations addicted to gaming. In the end, the Military Wives got a bit jealous, but although their main focus was still on their own men, most of their efforts were on building their common home. Thus, while the soldiers had their own things to do, the Military Wives also had their own tasks. This way, everyone was content, and when the men returned, they would be greeted with a cup of hot tea, they would cook together, and that was very pleasant. After all, they were experienced, but despite the help and company provided by everyone, giving birth mainly depended on oneself. Though it was her second child, Xia Xiao’s labor was still extremely painful, and it wasn’t any easier than her first childbirth as some claimed. Even though she knew it would be better to hold back her cries to save strength, Xia Xiao couldn’t help but scream in pain. The previous childbirth had left a painful, unforgettable mark on her, and after delivering Feiyang and Feiyue, she had thought to herself that since she now had two sons, she wouldn’t give birth again. But as the proverb goes, "Once the scar heals, the pain is forgotten," and now Xia Xiao was reliving the painful experience. Thinking about her two childbirths and how Gao Jiaxing hadn’t been able to be by her side both times, she understood him, but as she underwent the agony of labor, remembering her own struggle in childbirth which Gao Jiaxing couldn’t see, Xia Xiao felt a slight regret in her heart. Around noon, Xia Xiao gave birth to a big, chubby boy, and both mother and child were safe. Feiyang and Feiyue were twins, so they were only around five or six pounds each, but this little one was much heavier, weighing eight pounds and eight ounces, and plump. "He looks like Gao Jiaxing," Mu Xingzhi said, holding Xia Xiao’s newborn son. Xia Xiao was very exhausted at that moment but didn’t pass out. Over the years, her physical strength remained strong due to the frequent physical work. At the Gao family, while giving birth to Feiyang and Feiyue, Xia Xiao didn’t have to work, but now, she had to rely on herself and thus continued to work in the fields even while pregnant. Looking at her little chubby son, Xia Xiao smiled, "It’s good that he looks like his dad since he’s a boy, if it were a daughter, I’d be worried." On Gao Jiaxing’s end, although he still performed exceptionally this time, he suffered several injuries, and while being momentarily distracted, his left cheek was scratched by a tree branch. However, this time, instead of a promotion to company commander, he was promoted to Deputy Company Commander, which was still a rare opportunity. Xue Baozhu, seeing the injury on Gao Jiaxing’s face, was deeply distressed. Gao Jiaxing had refused Xue Baozhu’s treatment. He wanted to be upfront with Xue Baozhu, but since Xue Baozhu had not acknowledged her son, he couldn’t raise the issue first. Read full story at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥 Little did Gao Jiaxing know that after he refused Xue Baozhu, she called Lin Xiang over. Having refused once, he couldn’t refuse again. There were many injured people needing attention, so Gao Jiaxing let Lin Xiang take care of others while he tended to his own wounds. Lin Xiang looked at Xue Baozhu helplessly, and Xue Baozhu felt similarly helpless. On the other side, Yu Shijie’s gaze flickered, as he skeptically observed Xue Baozhu and Gao Jiaxing, trying to discern something. Others might not know that Xue Baozhu had a son, but Yu Shijie did. Xue Baozhu had treated Yu Shijie very well when she first married Yu Weiming, treating him as her own son, and naturally, she had mentioned having a son. So now, Yu Shijie wondered if Gao Jiaxing had reported his age younger than it actually was, as Gao Jiaxing looked a bit older, and now with an added military authority, guessing him to be a few years older wasn’t far fetched.