Chapter 160: I Miss You

Chapter 160: Chapter 160: I Miss You

"Wanwan, I’m home." Lu Zhengchuan couldn’t hold back any longer. He stepped forward and pulled Su Wan directly into his arms.

But Su Wan eagerly pushed him away, wanting to get a good look at him. She reached out to touch his face, then pulled at his clothes, wanting to feel if he was real.

"You’re real. You’re really here."

"Hmm, you look a little thinner."

"Mhm, your abs are still this hard. Yep, it’s you."

Lu Zhengchuan’s whole body grew hot from her touch. He hadn’t been with a woman for over half a year, and now, with the woman he’d longed for right in front of him, it was like an old house catching fire—he was finding it hard to control his impulses.

"Wanwan, let’s go back to the room first."

Lu Zhengchuan swept her up and rushed toward their room, shutting the courtyard gate behind him.

Startled, Su Wan quickly threw her arms around his neck. Just as she steadied herself, she saw a light turn on in the opposite room. Clearly, a family member had heard the noise and was about to come out.

"Quick, put me down! Someone from the family will see!"

"Don’t worry, we’re inside." Lu Zhengchuan quickly carried Su Wan into the room, avoiding Mother Su, who was just coming out.

Su Wan was pressed onto the bed, her heart racing. Peeking over Lu Zhengchuan’s shoulder, she saw her mother was only heading to the bathroom and not coming their way. She let out a huge sigh of relief. When she came back to her senses, she realized the position they were in. Her face flushed instantly, and she gave him a gentle push, her voice barely a whisper, "Lu Zhengchuan, get up. You’re crushing me."

"Wanwan, I missed you so much." Lu Zhengchuan didn’t move, instead nuzzling her with his chin.

The scratch of his stiff beard was uncomfortable, and Su Wan instinctively tilted her neck back. "That’s rough. You haven’t shaved."

"Mm, I’ll go shave right now." Lu Zhengchuan said the words, but he didn’t move. He even held Su Wan tighter and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her neck.

Su Wan’s cheeks grew even redder. She wanted to move but found she was being held tightly by Lu Zhengchuan. His hand was caressing her skin, so hot it made her break out in a sweat.

"Get up first," Su Wan pushed him. "The children are in the crib right next to us. Don’t you want to see them?"

"The children?"

Lu Zhengchuan’s spirits lifted. As he sat up, he made sure to pull Su Wan up with him.

Su Wan went and lit a candle, casting a faint glow in the room.

By the dim light, Lu Zhengchuan approached the small bed beside them. He immediately saw two children who looked just like him and Wanwan.

Su Wan’s voice was soft. "This is their big brother. He’s much bigger than his sister, isn’t he?"

"Big brother’s nickname is Tuantuan, and little sister’s is Yuanyuan. Together, their names are a wish for ’reunion,’ hoping you would return safely from the battlefield to reunite with our family."

Lu Zhengchuan couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms. The babies were too soft and fragile; he didn’t dare hold them for fear of waking them.

"Wanwan, you’ve worked hard."

Lu Zhengchuan placed a kiss on her forehead.

"The two children are quite well-behaved. Mom, Dad, and Aunt Zhao helped take care of them. Besides the pain from the wound at the beginning, there weren’t any major problems later on." Su Wan wasn’t the type to complain. After saying just that, she changed the subject. "Have you had dinner? Have you washed up?"

"I’ve eaten and washed up. I was just afraid that if I came back too late and made noise, I would disturb your sleep."

Lu Zhengchuan turned and blew out the candle, then pulled Su Wan onto the bed.

"Now we can finally rest."

Su Wan was still a little unaccustomed to it. As she lay beside him, Lu Zhengchuan propped his chin on one hand to watch her, his other arm wrapped around her waist.

Being watched by him for so long made her feel particularly self-conscious. "Aren’t you tired?"

"Not tired. I just attended the medal ceremony at the base today and watched a cultural performance," Lu Zhengchuan explained.

Su Wan grew curious. "A medal ceremony? Master Ji said you were getting a promotion. Was this the ceremony for your promotion?"

"Mhm, I’ve been promoted to Regiment Commander, and it’s for the Capital Military District. From now on, I’ll mostly be working here. I won’t be transferred away for long-term missions anymore. I’ll be spending more time in the office handling official business." Lu Zhengchuan toyed with her slender fingers.

"Wanwan, our family won’t have to be separated for so long anymore."

"Mhm, you’ve worked hard. This is great news to tell Mom and Dad tomorrow. Over the past six months, Mom, Dad, and my second brother’s business in the Capital has been doing well. If they keep earning for a few more years, they’ll be able to settle in the Capital too."

Hearing this, Lu Zhengchuan subconsciously asked, "Does the family have enough money?"

"This time, not only did the higher-ups promote me, they also gave me a monetary award."

Lu Zhengchuan casually took out a bankbook and placed it in Su Wan’s hand.

"All the money is in here."

Su Wan glanced at it by the moonlight. It was thirty thousand.

"So much?" she exclaimed. You have to remember, it was only 1979. A ’ten-thousand-yuan household’ was considered an extremely well-off family.

"It’s not that much." Lu Zhengchuan ruffled her hair, a smile on his face. "No matter what, I’m a leader now. It wouldn’t look right if I didn’t even have this much, would it?"

"Besides, this isn’t a stipend that comes with the position. It’s a reward for successfully completing the mission."

"Opportunities like this are rare. A First-Class Merit is almost unheard of in peacetime; you can only get one on the battlefield." Afraid she might not understand and could be misled or cheated in the future, Lu Zhengchuan explained all the intricacies very clearly.

Su Wan nodded. "I see, that makes sense. But even though you’re a Regiment Commander now, if you want to keep climbing, there’s still Division Commander, Army Commander, and General. I’m afraid that will require putting in the time and gaining seniority."

"Mhm, I’m too young. Becoming a Regiment Commander this quickly already makes me the first in the military to do so. From now on, promotions won’t just depend on ability, but also on time and experience."

"This also means my life will be much more stable than before."

"That’s great. It’s the perfect time, since Tuantuan and Yuanyuan really need their parents around right now. I’m going to be busy with my experiments, so if I don’t have enough time to look after the two kids, I’ll be counting on you," Su Wan said slyly.

"Hm? Experiments?" Lu Zhengchuan sensed something was amiss.

Su Wan traced circles on his chest with her finger. "It’s just that I’ve been on leave for over half a year already. I’m lucky the university didn’t expel me."

"From now on, I have to work on experiments with Professor Wang. I’ll be leaving early and coming home late. In any case, unless it’s a life-threatening reason, I definitely can’t take any more leave."

"So, I’ll have to trouble you with taking care of our two babies from now on."

"What? You don’t like the babies?" Su Wan huffed, feigning anger. "Then again, you weren’t there when they were born, and you haven’t taken care of them yourself, so of course you wouldn’t have any attachment."

"Wanwan, no! How could I possibly not like our children? The three of you are the most important people in the world to me."

"Of course I’ll take care of them, it’s my duty. I just didn’t expect that as soon as I’m not busy, it’s your turn to be busy." Lu Zhengchuan leaned against her. "Wanwan, don’t you miss me?"

Su Wan was taken aback by his clinginess. She reached out and felt his forehead. "Have you become a different person?"

"Who went and replaced my Lu Zhengchuan?"

Lu Zhengchuan tilted her chin up and kissed her. "No one replaced me. We’ve just been apart for too long."