Chapter 179: Gone Missing

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Gone Missing

For a moment, a flicker of panic crossed Zhao Yuan’s face. He forced a smile. "Xiao Yun, what are you talking about? I’m just a guest who came along for fun. The person next to me is my friend, Zhang Qing."

"Oh, well if it’s just a small thing, then you should just put up with it," Zhang Yun said, bringing the conversation back to her original point.

’In short, letting him pull strings was out of the question.’

A flash of displeasure crossed Zhao Yuan’s eyes, unnoticed by Zhang Yun. He exchanged a look with Zhang Qing beside him.

"Xiao Yun, how many people did your cousin assign to deal with this disco? I saw so many soldiers. Your cousin is incredible, being able to mobilize troops directly."

Zhao Yuan’s face was a mask of fawning admiration.

Zhang Yun chuckled. "My cousin *is* amazing. But my sister-in-law was the one who notified the unit about these soldiers. I don’t know how many are coming, exactly. Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. We can just sit back and enjoy the show."

Zhang Yun was in full-on spectator mode.

She didn’t notice the flash of anger on Zhao Yuan’s face.

He continued trying to pry information out of Zhang Yun.

After being asked so many questions, Zhang Yun started to get annoyed. "Alright, Ah Yuan, why do you keep asking about my cousin? You don’t care about me at all."

Zhao Yuan was speechless.

’After all that prying, he’d gotten nothing useful. No, wait, there was one useful piece of information. At least it confirmed Lu Zhengchuan had brought soldiers to investigate the disco. He had to report this to his boss.’

「That evening.」

Su Wan called home. Her Second Sister-in-law Su answered the phone.

"Wanwan? Are you asking about your husband? He hasn’t come back. Only his cousin, Zhang Yun, is home. Mom, Dad, and your second brother aren’t back yet."

Su Wan didn’t want to worry her, so she didn’t press the matter.

After hanging up, before she had a chance to worry about Lu Zhengchuan, her lab partners called her back to an experiment.

Su Wan paid for the call and hurried back to the lab.

She was busy until well after ten that night, when the professor finally let everyone leave.

Su Wan rubbed her tired eyes and waved goodbye to her classmates. She went to the school’s bicycle shed and got her bike. As she rode off campus, she saw that the shops outside were all closed and figured her parents and second brother were probably home by now.

Back in the courtyard.

Sure enough, she heard lively chatter before she even got close.

Su Wan pushed the door open and saw Mother Su washing cloth diapers.

"Mom, you’re still up this late?"

"Wanwan, you’re the one who’s just getting back. If you hadn’t called your second sister-in-law after six, we would have been worried sick."

"Why are you so late today?"

Su Wan rubbed her eyes. "I’ve been busy lately. The experiment is at a critical stage, so my schedule is unpredictable. You all don’t have to wait up for me. Please get some rest."

Mother Su didn’t reply to that. She couldn’t sleep when her daughter wasn’t home.

Especially such a capable daughter. Everyone in the alley envied her for having such a competent daughter.

"Have you eaten dinner? I’ll have your father whip something up for you. The twins just woke up. Go play with them for a bit, or they’ll forget who their mommy is."

Su Wan shook her head. "No, I’ve already eaten. If I eat now, I won’t be able to sleep."

"By the way, Mom, has Lu Zhengchuan called?" Su Wan asked, rubbing her brow.

"No. Xiao Yun said he went on a mission, right? Isn’t he just dealing with a shop that plays its music too loud? What’s taking him so long?"

"You kids... always making people worry."

Su Wan looked up at the sky. "Maybe there’s something he still needs to finish."

"Mom, you should get some rest too."

Although Su Wan was concerned about Lu Zhengchuan, she was used to these long periods of no contact due to his missions.

"Alright."

Mother Su finished washing the diapers, hung them in the courtyard to dry, then wiped her hands and went back to her room.

When Su Wan returned to her room, Aunt Zhao was coaxing the two children to sleep. Seeing her, she whispered, "Wanwan, you’re back. For some reason, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan are having trouble sleeping tonight. You’re back just in time. Why don’t you try putting them to sleep?"

"Okay, Auntie. You go get some rest."

Su Wan went over, taking the children from Aunt Zhao and holding them on the large bed. With one in each arm, she gently patted their backs.

The two children instantly settled down in Su Wan’s arms, snuggling into her embrace and finding comfortable positions.

Aunt Zhao smiled warmly, then quietly left the room, blowing out the kerosene lamp and closing the door behind her.

Su Wan was woken by the heat in the middle of the night. She groggily opened her eyes and felt someone else beside her. Catching a familiar scent, she turned her head and saw that it was indeed Lu Zhengchuan, fast asleep.

She instinctively reached out to her sides, but the children weren’t there.

"Hmm? What’s wrong?" Lu Zhengchuan asked, his voice muffled with sleep.

Su Wan rubbed her eyes and tried to sit up, but an arm wrapped around her waist. "Where are the children?"

Her voice was thick with sleep.

"They’re in their cots. Go back to sleep, it’s still early."

Su Wan lay back down. Feeling the breeze from a fan, she yawned. "When did you get back? The children didn’t wake up, did they?"

"I got back in the middle of the night. Aunt Zhao must have fed them already. They were sleeping soundly when I arrived."

"Go to sleep. Don’t worry about the kids, just get some rest," Lu Zhengchuan said, gently patting her on the back.

Su Wan was already exhausted, and soothed by his touch, she drifted off to sleep again before she knew it.

In the morning, she was woken by Aunt Zhao’s voice and the sound of her two children crying.

Su Wan sat up and instinctively picked up Yuanyuan, patting her gently as she began to nurse her. "You’re hungry, aren’t you? Drink slowly, don’t rush."

"Wanwan, how come you woke up a little late today? It’s already 7:20."

Usually, Su Wan was up by six-something, eating her own breakfast while the twins had theirs.

"Mmm, Lu Zhengchuan came home last night and woke me up. We talked for a bit before I fell back asleep," Su Wan said, rubbing her eyes, her voice drowsy.

Aunt Zhao looked confused. "Zheng Chuan came back? I didn’t see him."

"Huh?" Su Wan didn’t understand for a moment and blinked at her.

"I was up twice to feed the children, but I never saw Zheng Chuan."

"And he’s not here now."

"Wanwan, you weren’t dreaming, were you?" Aunt Zhao teased with a smile. "Maybe because Zheng Chuan isn’t back yet, you were missing him so much you dreamed he was here."

Su Wan scratched her head and looked around. There really wasn’t any sign on the bed that Lu Zhengchuan had been there at all.

"Could I have been so sleepy that I was just dreaming?"

Su Wan was deeply puzzled, and her once-firm belief began to waver.

After feeding the baby, she washed up and had breakfast. At the table, no one else had seen Lu Zhengchuan return, which made Su Wan even more convinced it must have been a dream.

But soon, she had no time to dwell on the matter.

That afternoon, she had a rare early day off from the university. When she got home, Zhang Yun and Second Sister-in-law Su approached her anxiously.

"Wanwan, Xiao Liu came by. He said your husband... he’s missing."