The temperature in the corridor wasn't high in September, and Grandma, wearing a dark blue Chinese-style jacket, stood at Shen Chaoxi's bedside, stretching out her hand to stroke the slightly damp wisps of hair on her forehead, her eyes brimming with a smile.
"Don't be afraid, Xixi, we women all have to go through this process, just like a carp jumping through the dragon's gate, once you get through it, you've truly grown up!"
Grandma had been a science teacher for half her life but not without a strong literary streak, her speech always carried a poetic air.
Shen Chaoxi nodded.
"Grandma will go and rest, when I wake up from a nap there will be good news!"
Even though she received an epidural for pain relief, the intense tugging in her belly clearly involved some pain sensation.
The kindly doctors urged her on, as the cervix was already dilated, and there could be no delays.