Susan Morrow snorted through her nose, her expression softening a little. "Go on."
Looks like I made the right bet! Dragon-Phoenix Twins—what are the odds, and I actually hit the jackpot! If I get this part right, I can confidently spin the story however I want from here.
"Madam, my cultivation may be low, but I do know that before a child is born, the mother's character divination is mysteriously linked to the child. First, let's look at the characters: one 'sun,' one 'moon'—they represent the twins in your belly. The 'sun' character is upright and angular, self-contained. Clearly, that's someone with a temper, a personality, and strong opinions. Now the 'moon' character—softer, more accommodating, open at the bottom, able to embrace the world and understand others."
The Great Immortal took a sip of water and continued, "Now, look at the structure. At a glance, doesn't it seem like the moon is protecting and embracing the sun? Both sun and moon are in the sky, but the sun is small and the moon is large. Clearly, the order of size between the two children is already set. Finally, let's look at the meaning: this pair of children will be anything but ordinary, destined for greatness. And if you ask why, just look—under the sun and moon, there's only emptiness!"
As the Great Immortal made his pronouncement, snowflakes drifted down. The wind was cold and strong, and the couple walked home hand in hand through the snow.
"Honey, looks like the girl will be born first." John Yang smiled gently. "That scam artist talked for ages, but the only thing worth remembering is probably this—if it's even true."
"The boy as the younger brother, the girl as the elder sister. The sister's softness balances the brother's edges—just like the small sun and big moon." Susan Morrow nodded, then grinned playfully. "But honestly, I'd love for the boy to come first! A boy with a little sister, a girl with a big brother—that's perfect!"
"Brother and sister, sister and brother—either way is good." John Yang gently touched Susan Morrow's belly, feeling the little one inside, chuckling with delight. "Best of all, we'll finally have a gentle girl in the family."
"What do you mean by that!" Susan Morrow rolled her eyes. "Are you saying I'm not gentle?"
"You’re more like tough with a hint of soft." John Yang squatted down, leaned close to Susan’s belly, and whispered, "They say daughters dote on their dads. My dear daughter, listen to your old man—grow up to be gentle as water, okay?" As he spoke, he pressed his ear to his wife's belly, as if waiting for a reply from his daughter.
No sooner had he put his ear down than he heard a faint gurgling sound. With Susan Morrow watching him with an amused look, John Yang rubbed his face and grumbled, "Someone just kicked me—I wonder which one of you it was..." John’s dejected face made Susan burst out laughing, her bell-like laughter ringing through the snowy night.
The Year of the Dragon had arrived.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was March—Susan Morrow was now seven months pregnant.
Within a month, John Yang had identified the culprit who attacked him that day: his daughter. The little girl was a ball of energy in the womb—always punching and kicking. Her strength was tiny, of course, but she never stopped. John fretted, thinking, Great, my daughter’s going to take after her mom—a little hellion. The only consolation was that his son seemed more like himself: quiet, calm, and not much trouble at all.
But then John started to worry about his son.
Would his sister bully him? Would he end up with bruises all over? Would she hog all the nutrients so he’d go hungry?
One night, John had a dream: the unborn twins were fighting. Well, not really fighting—it was more like the boy getting bullied. In the dream, the girl stood with her hands on her hips, laughing, "All the good food is mine!" The boy cowered in a corner, tears streaming down his face, rubbing the big bump on his head and sniffling, "Okay... you can have it all..."
John woke up in a cold sweat and told Susan Morrow about his worries. Susan laughed so hard she nearly fell over, and her laughter lasted all day. But John, ever the doting dad, insisted they couldn’t let the little hellion get away with it—he had to gather evidence and set her straight. So he drew a comic strip about "daughter bullying son" as a keepsake. And honestly, John turned out to be quite the artist—he had real talent, totally self-taught.
But Susan Morrow thought it over and realized her husband had a point. The two kids shared the same umbilical blood, so there was always a risk that one might get more nutrients than the other. Better get it checked—after all, both kids are precious, and you don’t want either one to go hungry.
Director Xu came back on the scene. With a quick ultrasound, she reassured them: "Both babies are developing really well, and their nutrition is perfectly balanced. That’s actually pretty rare—most twins aren’t this even. Quite remarkable." Then she took another look, and suddenly her face turned serious. "Morrow, I have to tell you something—don’t panic, but there’s a problem with the babies."
"What’s wrong?" Susan Morrow couldn’t help getting nervous. "Director Xu, what’s the problem?"
"These two children are..." Director Xu paused for a moment, then reluctantly delivered the harsh truth: "Conjoined twins."
Five days later, same OB-GYN department, same five people involved.
Yang Ying was so nervous she was about to burst into tears. "Doctor Xu, what’s going on? How could something like this just show up out of nowhere?" It was a bolt from the blue—everything had been fine before, so how did this happen?
"Before, the babies were too small and always overlapped, so we didn’t notice. This time, the girl suddenly moved her arm and I realized—they’re conjoined." Director Xu adjusted her glasses. "It’s truly unbelievable, because conjoined twins are supposed to grow together. Even among siblings, there’s usually a rejection response. That’s why conjoined twins almost always come from identical twins. Dragon-Phoenix Twins being conjoined—this is my first time seeing it."
Samuel Soo slapped his forehead, looking at his pale-faced daughter and sighing deeply. "Doctor, can it be treated? Will it harm the children?"
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"If you want to treat it, you’ll have to wait until after birth for surgery. The area of connection isn’t big—just a thin layer of skin and flesh, so it’s not a major issue. But because the spot is so unique, natural birth isn’t possible. You’ll need a C-section."
Director Xu’s words eased everyone’s worries a little. The most important thing was that the children would be fine. John Yang asked the key question: "Director, where exactly are they joined?"
Director Xu nodded and gave the answer: "Their hands. The boy’s left hand and the girl’s right hand are joined together. We’ve checked in many ways—the connection at the hands is very tight. The two babies are linked by blood vessels and nerves in their palms, sharing blood and nutrients. No wonder their development is so balanced." Director Xu pressed her own hands together, fingers interlaced, to demonstrate: "Just like this—they’re joined together."
"Don’t worry too much—their hands are developing just fine. Once they’re born, it’ll be easy to handle and won’t affect their future. Who knows, as they grow, maybe their natural rejection response will separate them on its own." Director Xu even managed a joke: "These two—joined at the heart and the hand. They’ll be close for life. Yang, Morrow, you’re in for a blessing."
Everyone wanted to laugh but couldn’t, wanted to cry but it wasn’t quite that bad—so they left in a tangle of emotions.
In the days that followed, thanks to John Yang’s comfort and his deliberate attempts at humor, Susan Morrow finally got her spirits back. After all, it was just a hand connection—hardly a big deal among all the fetal cases out there. And looking at it another way, two little ones holding hands in the womb was actually pretty cute. Susan wasn’t the type to stay down for long, so she bounced back quickly.
Nothing to be gloomy about. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I’d already decided: no matter what happens, as their mother, I’ll see it through to the end.
With that, Susan’s fighting spirit flared up again. Seeing his energetic wife, John Yang smiled in relief.
Days passed, month after month, and nothing bad happened. The belly grew, the babies matured. The girl got more and more active—always stirring things up. The boy was still a quiet one, never making a fuss. But even before they were born, the two seemed almost sentient.
When the girl got too rowdy, Susan Morrow would pat her belly and say, "Princess, you’re gonna kick your mom to death." Then the girl would curl up and settle down for a while.
When the boy was too quiet, John Yang would call out through the belly, "Hey kid, don’t be so dull—get up and move around!" The boy would then lazily wiggle a bit, or reach out and touch his mom’s belly, just to prove he was still alive.
The most amazing thing was, even though both babies were in the womb, John Yang and Susan Morrow could always tell which one was moving. Samuel Soo, the father-in-law, was curious and asked his son-in-law how he could tell. John replied, "I’ve figured out their fighting styles. One move and I know if it’s Wudang Soft Palm or Shaolin Arhat Fist."
For this, John drew another comic strip of his kids practicing martial arts, which his students secretly circulated and hailed as a masterpiece.
During this time, the family had a huge argument—about naming the babies.
John Yang suggested naming the girl 'Yang Qi.' Samuel Soo shook his head and said, since they’re Dragon-Phoenix Twins, maybe the girl should take her mother’s surname. But Susan Morrow immediately objected: if she really took her mother’s name, she’d end up with her grandmother’s surname, and after all the twists and turns, she’d still be a Yang. Yang Ying grinned and agreed. Women can hold up half the sky—definitely support the girl taking her mother’s name.
Two against one—Samuel Soo was forced to concede.
Then for the boy, John Yang suggested 'Yang Qi,' hoping the child would be extraordinary and stand out. This time, Samuel Soo nodded enthusiastically: a real man should have such ambition—great name! But Susan Morrow shook her head, saying 'Yang Qi' and 'Yang Qi' sound almost identical, which would make it confusing to call them—if the kids are conjoined, do their names have to be conjoined too?
It was another two-to-one, but since the one was Susan Morrow, the old guys couldn’t win back any ground. In the end, they had to shelve the debate.
Time passed, the months filled out, and the due date drew near. On June 1st, Susan Morrow had a dream—a very strange dream.