Chapter 168: Finally Made Contact

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Finally Made Contact

’That’s not it,’ Su Wan thought. ’Is this really the time to be talking about love? Shouldn’t we be discussing Xu Rongrong?’

But seeing Lu Zhengchuan looking secretly pleased, Su Wan had to admit defeat. This was the first time she realized that Lu Zhengchuan was actually a man who liked hearing sweet nothings!

It was simply unbelievable.

No wonder. She had tried to explain things seriously and show her sincerity by focusing on a solution, but not only had he been unhappy, he’d remained angry.

...Seriously, he was so simple-minded. ’Would he be so easily coaxed by a few sweet words in the future that he’d forget his own name?’

"I love you, of course I do," Su Wan awkwardly repeated, offering the assurance despite her discomfort.

Lu Zhengchuan smiled. His mood visibly lifted, and he even reached out to pull her into his arms.

"Mhm, Wanwan, I love you too."

"Wait for me to finish the laundry. I’ll be in right away. You go get some rest first." Lu Zhengchuan was instantly re-energized.

Su Wan felt resigned. What else could she do? She seized the opportunity to give him a peck on the cheek, expressing her affection through action.

Su Wan dried her hair, and seeing that Tuantuan was awake, she placed him on the large bed and played with him for a while.

When Lu Zhengchuan came in after cleaning up, he saw his wife and son on the bed, the picture of domestic bliss. He finally understood why so many of his comrades-in-arms wanted to get married and were so determined to have children. It was a feeling of profound peace.

"Wanwan, Tuantuan... Yuanyuan is a bit weaker. Just as I thought, she’s still asleep." Lu Zhengchuan walked in, his face filled with tenderness as he looked at them.

He hadn’t forgotten his delicate little daughter. He turned to look and saw she was indeed sleeping soundly.

’She has none of the energy of this little rascal, Tuantuan.’

"Is Yuanyuan’s body too weak to take medicine?"

"What medicine?" Su Wan wiped Tuantuan’s drool with a handkerchief. The little one had been lively since birth, and now that he was awake, he was crawling all over the bed. He was so excited that he started drooling.

"Medicine to make her stronger."

Su Wan gave him a speechless look. "All medicine has side effects. It’s normal for Yuanyuan to be a little weaker and sleep more. She drinks a little less milk and doesn’t have as big of an appetite, so naturally, she doesn’t have as much energy."

"We can slowly build up her strength once she can eat solid food. She’ll be fine when she’s a little older."

Lu Zhengchuan sat on the edge of the bed. He reached out to poke Tuantuan’s head, then gently touched Yuanyuan’s little foot.

"Alright."

"Okay, come to bed. It’s getting late." Su Wan straightened the blanket on the bed. Even though it was hot, she only used a hand fan, not daring to turn on the electric one for fear the two children would catch a cold from the draft.

Lu Zhengchuan walked over, picked up the yawning Tuantuan, who was tired from playing, and laid him down on the bed.

"Wanwan, there’s something I want to tell you." Lu Zhengchuan chose his words carefully as he walked over and sat beside the bed.

"What is it?"

Su Wan was lying down with her hands on her stomach, resting primly. She was just about to close her eyes when she heard him speak and looked up at him.

"Xu Rongrong came by today, didn’t she?"

"Mhm, and?"

Lu Zhengchuan looked up at the ceiling. "She came looking for me. Said she had news about my father."

"Huh? News about Dad? They found him? Is he okay?" After he’d been missing for so many years, Su Wan’s first reaction was to wonder if he was still alive.

Lu Zhengchuan nodded. "He’s alive, and doing quite well for himself, actually."

"Oh?" Su Wan could tell he hadn’t finished, so she sat up cross-legged, waiting for him to continue.

"But I didn’t go to the Xu Family’s home. Commander Xu gave me a letter. Based on the information in it, I went to ask Old Commander Qi and got confirmation."

"My father is currently the leader of a mercenary group in a foreign country."

"Mercenaries!" Su Wan was extremely surprised to hear this. She couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, "Wow, Dad is incredible! To become a mercenary leader... that’s amazing, isn’t it?"

"Wanwan, aren’t you scared?" Lu Zhengchuan asked worriedly.

"Scared of what?" Su Wan was confused.

"Because Dad is a mercenary and I’m a soldier. If this news gets out in the country, I might not even pass my political background check. I’d have to leave the army."

Su Wan understood that this was related to his career.

"Did your superiors tell you this?"

"Sort of. They want me to persuade my father to surrender. That way, I should be able to stay in the army."

"That’s not right." Su Wan scratched her head. "Logically, since Dad is so capable and has become a force to be reckoned with abroad, it would be a good thing if he could cooperate with Hua Country. Why would they want him to surrender?"

"Even though I’m not in the military, I can see this. You have your career here in the country, and Dad has his abroad. They could actually use you, or even me and the children, as leverage to influence him. There’s no real benefit to him coming back. The mercenary group would just get a new leader, and once that happens, the new boss might not have any connection to Hua Country."

Su Wan reached out and patted his shoulder. "Why don’t you go ask Commander Ji? The leadership here in the Capital has no real connection with us. Who knows what they’re thinking."

"Even if they have their own agenda, we can try to push things in the direction of cooperation, like I just said."

"In any case, I don’t agree with you persuading Dad to surrender." Su Wan shook her head, her attitude surprisingly firm.

Lu Zhengchuan nodded. "I’ve thought about what you said, Wanwan. That’s why I suspect there’s a lot of information I don’t have. Someone is probably trying to take advantage of the fact that Dad and I haven’t been in contact for so many years to achieve their own goals."

"Then what do you want to do?" Su Wan asked.

Lu Zhengchuan said, "If this were the past, I would have definitely cooperated with the military without hesitation. But now I have children. I can’t just rush in blindly."

’He knew his priorities had shifted, but he was still a patriot and would never do anything to betray his country. His focus had just shifted from simply following orders to having his own considerations as well.’

"I want to find out more about Dad’s situation first and then figure out a way to contact him. But just meeting him in person is probably impossible."

"Why didn’t Dad contact you before? Didn’t they say he went missing on a mission over twenty years ago? As long as Dad hasn’t attacked Hua Country during his years as a mercenary, the higher-ups would definitely choose to accept him, not reject him."

"Because Dad has amnesia. I heard he lost his memory after the incident back then. That’s why he hasn’t contacted anyone in the country, or me, for all these years."

Lu Zhengchuan revealed after a moment of contemplation.

The more Su Wan listened, the more confused she became. "If Dad has amnesia, how did he contact someone in the country now? Did he get his memory back?"

Lu Zhengchuan shook his head. "That’s something I don’t know. The old commander didn’t say."

"Then let’s just wait and see. You definitely still have to cooperate with the military. After all, if you try to contact Dad privately now, the higher-ups might misunderstand and think you really have ulterior motives."

"But you’ve dedicated so much to the country over the years without any selfish intentions. It would be a terrible injustice if you were ruined over one small move." Su Wan patted his shoulder. "Go to the military and find out what’s going on. I believe the leadership will treat you fairly and justly."