When Du Heng went to work in the morning, his mood had already improved from yesterday’s irritability. He walked into the classroom with his head held high, ready to teach.

After more than a month of this continuous practice, Du Heng had gradually come to enjoy this feeling.

Compared with occasionally substituting for Li Jianwei’s classes last semester, he felt an increased sense of pressure, but also of responsibility.

Moreover, he considered teaching a glorious and sacred duty, so he approached every class with utmost seriousness.

Usually, when entering the classroom, he would remove all items unrelated to the lesson from his person. He would either place them in his office or hand them to his teaching assistant, Xiao Su.

And today, he had handed his belongings to Xiao Su, allowing him to focus entirely on teaching.

However, Du Heng caught Xiao Su, who was below the podium, trying to signal him out of the corner of his eye several times.

He didn’t know what Xiao Su wanted. To avoid disrupting the class, he chose to ignore the signals and continued with the day’s lesson.

When the class ended, Du Heng picked up his cup to drink water. He then asked Xiao Su, who had rushed to his side, "What’s wrong? You seemed restless all class."

Xiao Su walked over to Du Heng and quickly handed him his mobile phone. "Senior, your hospital called several times, saying it’s urgent."

Upon hearing this, Du Heng immediately put down his water cup, took his phone, and glanced at it. He saw missed calls from Vice Dean Zhang and Gao Qin.

The most recent call was from Gao Qin.

Without hesitation, Du Heng called Gao Qin back.

After a brief conversation, Du Heng hung up and said to Xiao Su, who was beside him, "Something has come up at the hospital. I need to go back now."

After saying this, Du Heng hurriedly left.

Arriving back at the hospital, Du Heng’s brow, which had been relaxed, furrowed the moment he drove through the gates. His expression visibly soured with agitation.

"Director Gao, what’s the specific situation?" After changing his clothes, Du Heng went straight to find Gao Qin.

Gao Qin was currently flipping through a disease record in her hands. Upon hearing Du Heng’s voice, she put the record down and stood up.

"The patient’s surname is Liu, forty-one years old. She gave birth at our hospital one week ago." Gao Qin quickly answered Du Heng’s question. "On the second day postpartum, the woman in childbirth experienced constipation. I prescribed some laxatives, but the effect was not significant.

Three days ago, the patient developed an anal fissure, and every bowel movement was bloody.

This morning, after taking her medicine, she suddenly felt palpitations, shortness of breath, and had difficulty breathing. Her heart rate spiked to 180 beats per minute at one point."

Gao Qin continued, then turned, picked up an examination report from the desk, and handed it to Du Heng. "This is the patient’s lab report. Everything else is normal, but her hemoglobin is too low—only six grams."

Du Heng casually flipped through the lab report and asked, "Was it a smooth delivery or a cesarean section for the woman in childbirth? Were there any complications during the delivery?"

"A cesarean section. The entire delivery process was relatively smooth; no dangerous situations occurred." Gao Qin was very familiar with the situation and answered promptly.

Du Heng quickly read the lab report, handed it back to Gao Qin, and then continued to ask, "Does she have any other underlying diseases?"

Gao Qin shook her head. "No. However, the woman in childbirth is of advanced maternal age and has a history of habitual miscarriage, so they were extremely cautious throughout the entire pregnancy.

In fact, by the time she was two months pregnant, she was barely doing any movement. Especially in the early stages; according to the woman in childbirth and her family, she lay in bed for three months, only getting up to use the toilet or eat.

This continued until she was close to giving birth, at which point she slightly increased her amount of movement."

Du Heng’s expression faltered slightly. Were they really that cautious?

Gao Qin nodded with a hint of helplessness. "Indeed, that’s exactly how it was. I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. The woman in childbirth’s amount of movement during her entire pregnancy, according to them, was so minimal that at its most extreme, her daily step count was less than ten.

Consequently, the woman in childbirth was somewhat weak during labor and couldn’t exert much force. Coupled with her advanced maternal age, they opted for a cesarean section to be safe."

Du Heng was rendered speechless by this. "Where did she have her prenatal examinations? Didn’t the doctor tell her that a moderate amount of movement during pregnancy is beneficial for both the mother and the fetus?"

"The prenatal examinations were done right here at our hospital. Our doctors advised her, but she wouldn’t listen. Her family also supported her decision, so we couldn’t do anything."

Du Heng sighed. Prolonged sitting harms the muscles, let alone constant lying down. He then asked, "So, what’s the woman in childbirth’s current overall condition?"

"Her postpartum condition isn’t very good." Gao Qin sighed. "She was very weak for the first three days. When she tried to get out of bed to move around, she reported her legs feeling weak, along with dizziness and nausea. So, she has essentially been lying in bed ever since giving birth."

Gao Qin paused for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, the woman in childbirth’s mood has been low ever since delivery—she’s even seemed quite unhappy. This caused her milk to dry up on the third day."

Du Heng was puzzled again. Is there a problem with the child?

"Apart from being a bit small and thin, there are no problems at all. It’s a very healthy baby girl."

A baby girl, very healthy, and a child they had such difficulty conceiving. What could she possibly be unhappy about? Could it be that her family has a preference for boys over girls?

Hearing Du Heng’s question, Gao Qin let out a heavy sigh. "It’s not her family that has a preference for boys over girls. She herself has that preference. She wanted a boy."