Chapter 109.1

“Do you think we should let one of the children take Grandpa’s surname? Let him have the surname Lu?”

Before officially acknowledging General Lu as her grandfather, Wen Nuan already knew that General Lu’s two sons had both sacrificed their lives on the battlefield.

At that time, General Lu must have been in his forties or early fifties. Wen Nuan had heard during the Chinese New Year celebration in Beijing that her Grandpa’s generation had suggested General Lu have another child.

However, General Lu had refused, not wanting to hurt her Grandma.

He and his wife had been together for over twenty years, living without regrets.

Although he was a renowned Air Force general, over the past year or so, Wen Nuan had come to realize that he was no different from an ordinary elderly person.

General Lu would spoil the children, giving Lele whatever she asked for.

He would also be unconditionally kind to the younger generation, sending her many things and treating her like a child.

Even during the New Year, when they shared a meal, he would be as happy as a child, proudly wearing the down jacket she made and showing it off to everyone.

Wen Nuan had seen how good he was to her and deeply felt his kindness.

Since General Lu had acknowledged her, he had never brought up the topic of her changing her surname, which showed great respect for her.

In terms of material wealth, General Lu had everything he needed. Their family lived far in the North, unable to provide him with constant emotional support.

So Wen Nuan also wanted to do something for him, to make the family feel more complete.

She looked at Gu Qinghan and subconsciously licked her lips, noticing his calm expression as though he was also considering the matter.

Wen Nuan then said, “This isn’t urgent. You can think about it tonight and answer me, or you can take a few more days to consider it. I was thinking that when Grandpa has time to come see the children, I could speak to him about it in person.”

In the next moment, Gu Qinghan reached out and pinched Wen Nuan’s cheek, saying, “This might not be a good idea.”

After hearing Gu Qinghan’s words, Wen Nuan’s eyes dimmed, and she looked at him without saying anything.

But she wasn’t particularly disappointed. After all, Gu Qinghan was much better than other men, and she couldn’t expect him to be perfect in every way.

“Do you really have so little confidence in me?” Gu Qinghan curved his lips slightly and then said, “But those two brothers are twins. Having different surnames would indeed be a bit strange.”

Wen Nuan responded with a faint “oh,” then sighed, smiling lightly, “It’s okay, I can understand. Then…”

“Then what about…?” Gu Qinghan stretched out both hands and pinched her face, smiling, “Let both the boys take your Grandpa’s surname Lu. This way, there won’t be any confusion between the two brothers in the future.”

What… what?

Wen Nuan widened her eyes, looking at the man in front of her with disbelief. “You… you’re serious?”

She must not be dreaming, right?

Gu Qinghan actually agreed to let the children take the surname Lu?

And not just one, but both?

Gu Qinghan gave her a firm look. “Yes, I’m serious.”

“None of the children will take your surname?”

Wen Nuan could hardly believe her ears. If these two were her daughters, she wouldn’t have been so shocked by what Gu Qinghan had just said.

Both sons taking her family’s surname? Not only would others think it strange, but Wen Nuan herself also felt it was a little odd.

Gu Qinghan chuckled lightly. “But there’s Lele, right? Lele takes my surname, Gu. That’s enough.”

Saying this, he handed the last piece of apple to Wen Nuan’s mouth, urging her to eat it.

Wen Nuan wasn’t particularly fond of apples, so she shook her head. “How about we let Lele take one child’s surname, Lu, and the other son takes your surname, Gu?”

Seeing that Wen Nuan wasn’t eating, Gu Qinghan finished the apple himself, and then said, “Gu Wan Yue sounds better than Lu Wan Yue. Let’s settle this. Let the two little rascals take your family’s surname, Lu, and Lele will take my family’s surname, Gu.”

As for the children’s surname, Gu Qinghan had no objections.

After all, these two children had been born after Wen Nuan carried them for ten months. Even though they shared some of his genes, without Wen Nuan, there would be no them.

Compared to the suffering Wen Nuan went through during pregnancy and childbirth, his own contribution had been far too little.

A surname—whether it was Gu or Lu—would not change the fact that they were Gu Qinghan and Wen Nuan’s children.

After a pause, Gu Qinghan looked at Wen Nuan, who seemed to still be processing everything, and said, “But I have one condition.”

Wen Nuan glanced at him, curious. “What condition?”

Gu Qinghan suddenly leaned down, his thin lips brushing against her ear, and whispered softly, “Don’t leave me and the children.”

“No matter who you are, don’t ever leave us in the future.”

Wen Nuan inhaled the faint mint scent on the man, and her heart suddenly began to race.

She slightly raised her head and met Gu Qinghan’s deep, dark eyes. A thousand words were stuck in her throat, and her eyes slowly began to fill with tears.

“You’re not supposed to cry during the confinement period; it’s bad for your eyes,” Gu Qinghan kissed her smooth forehead, tucked the blanket around her, and said gently, “While the kids are asleep, you should rest too. They might wake up later tonight.”

Wen Nuan lay back on the hospital bed, glanced at Gu Qinghan, and obediently closed her eyes.

However, she couldn’t fall asleep.

Before dawn the next day, when Gu Qinghan saw that the two children were sleeping soundly and Aunt Chen had woken up, he lowered his voice and said to her, “Aunt Chen, I’m going to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy some meat. I’ll also have to return to the unit later, so I might not be back until the afternoon. Can you keep an eye on the children and Wen Nuan for me?”

Aunt Chen had stayed up until around midnight last night, and feeling drowsy, Gu Qinghan had told her to rest so she would be more energetic to look after the children during the day.

But to his surprise, she had slept until after five in the morning. Aunt Chen quickly nodded, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on them. No strangers will be allowed in.”

Last night, Gu Qinghan had reminded her to be cautious of strangers coming to take the children. Although Aunt Chen had never heard of child theft happening within the military, after the recent spy incident, it was better to be cautious.

Gu Qinghan moved quickly, going to the Kitchen Unit to buy a chicken, some bone-in pork ribs, and some pork bones. He planned to take them back to Aunt Liang so she could make soup for the next couple of days.

However, when he arrived, he found that Aunt Liang had already been up early and had already made pig’s feet and soy bean soup.

After thanking her, he went home, quickly washed up, and then headed back to his office.

The first thing he did was dial General Lu’s office.

It seemed that General Lu was still busy with espionage matters, and although it was early, the call was quickly connected.

“What? Two little rascals?” When General Lu heard the good news, he clapped his thigh in joy and said with a smile, “Good, good, you’re now blessed with both a son and a daughter! That’s great. By the way, how is Xiao Nuan? Is she doing alright?”

Earlier, he had specifically asked Li Yunhua to help out at the northern unit for these two months. With her there, everything should go smoothly.

However, giving birth to two children was bound to be more difficult, and General Lu was worried that his delicate granddaughter might not have enough strength to endure.

Gu Qinghan calmly replied, “Xiao Nuan and the kids are fine. They’re still in the hospital, but she asked me to tell you first.”

General Lu was overjoyed. He felt that his granddaughter truly cared for him, so he said, “You stay at the North base for this month. Wait until Xiao Nuan finishes her confinement, and then come to Beijing.”

There were still many follow-up tasks related to the espionage issues, but it seemed Gu Qinghan would not be able to manage everything.

However, there was no rush. There would surely be plenty of things to handle before the New Year.

Then General Lu asked about the children—what time they were born, how much they weighed—and upon hearing that both babies were over five pounds, he began to feel sorry for his granddaughter, knowing how difficult it must have been for her to carry them.

After chatting for a while, someone came to find Gu Qinghan in his office. He said to General Lu on the phone, “Grandpa, Xiao Nuan wanted to ask if you could help with naming the children.”

He didn’t mention the issue of the children taking his surname. He figured it would be best for Wen Nuan to bring it up herself when the time came.

General Lu, feeling pleased, eagerly agreed, “No problem. I’ll make some time to name the two little rascals.”

After a brief pause, General Lu added, “But if Xiao Nuan doesn’t like the names, she can choose on her own. Just pay attention to how she feels about it.”

Gu Qinghan, though rarely seeing General Lu so uncertain, agreed without hesitation.

After hanging up, General Lu called Uncle Zhao to have him prepare some confinement food and supplies to send to the North.

Once the call ended, General Lu pulled out his phone’s contact list and started calling his old comrades one by one to report on the situation.

When Xiao Zhang woke up from his desk, he thought he had stayed up for several nights and was hearing things—had he really just heard their leader laughing?

Since the espionage issue within the unit had arisen, their leader had become increasingly irritable, often scolding five subordinates in a single day without pause.

Even Xiao Zhang had been scolded twice, so hearing laughter from the leader now made him wonder if he was hallucinating.

But when the guard brought breakfast in, Xiao Zhang followed the guard into the office, and he realized he hadn’t misheard!

Their leader was finally laughing!

Upon listening carefully, it turned out that Comrade Wen Nuan had given birth to twins!