1 Day 1

In a two story building lived a father who worked at a restaurant day and night, a mother who worked at the hospital, an older daughter who was about to go to college, and a younger daughter just finishing elementary school. From working at the restaurant all day, the father had lost his handsomeness due to the oil splashes and stress. The mother was no doctor, but instead also worked in the cooking room, cutting up vegetables for the doctors and sick patients. She had lost all her fire due to her bosses reprimanding her everyday for not cutting the vegetables the right size, or because she wasn't cutting them fast enough. The oldest daughter was going to attend an average college, but if they had had enough money, she would have been able to attend a better college. Alas, maybe fortune would be kind on their youngest daughter.

At 5am in the morning, from the second floor of the house, a faint "Mom! Mom!" could be heard.

The mother appeared at her oldest daughter's door and dashed over. Her oldest daughter seemed as if she had fallen off of her bed!

"What's wrong? XueLi?!" The mother looked towards the mound on her daughter, perhaps the baby was about to come out? "XueLi?"

XueLi kept on moving uncomfortably and her conscience was going in and out, "Mom, I, something's not quite right!" The mother could only worry when the father appeared.

"XueLi!" the father shouted, "Quick, call the ambulance!" He ordered his wife, and with shaking hands she went back to her room to grab the phone and call the police.

All of a sudden the father decided that he couldn't wait for the ambulance to get to his home, so he decided to move his daughter into their car and drive to the closest hospital. It wasn't easy for the father to move his daughter as he was already so old and tired, but in one fellow swoop he had hauled his daughter in a princess carry and put her in the backseat.

He ordered his youngest daughter to come along as well, "YinHang! Come down here right now!" His youngest daughter bounded down the stairs with a worried look. "Get into the back seat with your sister, and call your sisters boyfriend."

YinHang seemed to understand what was going on and quickly pressed his number. He answered on the first ring. "Uncle JiaTing, I think older sister is ready!" There was a muffled reply as if he was still in a slumber, "UNCLE JIATING, MY SISTER IS ABOUT TO HAVE YOUR BABY!" She screamed into the phone. Stupid uncle. How could he be asleep when her sister was in so much pain.

"What?!" He finally responded. "I'll be right there. Which hospital?"

"Dad, which hospital?" YinHang asked her dad.

"Zhu Hospital." He said crisply.

"Did you hear that?" YinHang said into the phone.

"Yeah," JiaTing said, "I'll be there in 40 minutes," and he quickly ended the call for he needed to change into better clothes to leave a better impression on the baby. After all, first impressions were important.

JiaTing reminisced on the days when they first met. They had met each other 4 years ago through a friend. There was a dance in town and his friend was dating her friend and they thought that JiaTing and XueLi would match well together. Who knew that 4 years down the road, they would have a kid already just before going to college.

Back when he and XueLi found out that she was pregnant, he wanted her to abort. But then her parents found out and said there was no way of aborting and that the baby was a gift from god. He was angry at himself. It's why there are condoms. It's why people pull out early, but he had pulled out a second too late. Stupid stupid stupid. He wasn't ready for a kid. He himself was barely an adult. What kid?

But then over time, as he saw the ultra sound scans of his baby, and started to feel the baby's kicks, he stopped getting angry at himself. A baby.