Chapter 6: The Real Father, The Fake Father

The man walked up to An An, ignoring his struggles, and scooped him up in his arms before striding away. 

As they reached a more crowded section of the train, he loudly declared, “Son! I finally found you! Where’s your mother? Did she run off with some other man? Son, come with Daddy. I’ve been searching for you so hard!” 

An An was caught completely off guard. A stranger had suddenly appeared, claiming to be his father! 

He had never seen his father before. Could this man really be him? 

No! Absolutely not! 

An An recalled what his mother had taught him and quickly realized—this man was most likely a human trafficker. 

“Let me go! You’re lying! You’re not my father at all!” An An struggled with all his might. 

“You ungrateful brat, your mother has really led you astray!” The man noticed people around them looking over, so he immediately launched into a well-rehearsed story. “This child is my son. I’m always busy with work, and his mother ran off with another man. She’s planning to take my son with her to join him. I finally tracked them down!” 

The nearby passengers had seen a woman traveling with the child earlier. Since the man’s words sounded so convincing, they didn’t think to question him. 

Someone even chimed in, “That’s so immoral! Running off with another man and taking the kid too? No wonder the father is so desperate!” 

An An grew even more anxious as he saw that the people around him had been deceived. Taking advantage of a moment when the trafficker wasn’t paying attention, he bit down hard on the man’s wrist. 

“Ah—! You little brat!” The man yelped in pain, his grip loosening just enough for An An to break free. 

At that moment, An An spotted two men in military uniforms nearby. 

Like seeing a beacon of hope, he dashed toward them and threw his arms around one of the soldiers’ legs, crying out loudly: 

“That man isn’t my father! I don’t know him! He’s a human trafficker pretending to be my dad so he can kidnap me and sell me! My mom said my real dad is a soldier—he’s my real dad!” 

Gu Weicheng lowered his gaze to the small boy clinging to his leg and calling him “Dad,” then shifted his sharp eyes toward the man chasing after him. 

The moment the child bit him, the man’s face had twisted with a viciousness no real father would ever show his son. When his gaze met Gu Weicheng’s, he immediately averted his eyes—though only for a fleeting second before quickly regaining his composure. 

But Gu Weicheng was a soldier, far more observant than the average person. 

With just one glance, he could tell—this man was not the boy’s father. 

Hu Songlin initially didn’t think much of the kid who had suddenly appeared, claiming to be his comrade’s son. 

But when he got a good look at An An’s face, he hesitated. 

This child… looked way too much like Gu Weicheng! 

It was as if they had been carved from the same mold! 

Excitedly, Hu Songlin blurted out, “Commander Gu, is this really your son? I mean, just look at him—he’s practically your spitting image!” 

Gu Weicheng shot him a glare and said dryly, “This kid is smarter than you. He only said that to keep himself from being kidnapped. Watch over him—I’ll handle the trafficker.” 

With that, Gu Weicheng swiftly dashed toward the fleeing man. 

Realizing his scheme had been exposed, the trafficker turned and ran. 

Hu Songlin watched his partner take off, then looked down at the tiny child barely reaching his thigh. He felt a headache coming on. 

He didn’t even have a girlfriend yet, let alone experience taking care of kids! 

Crouching down, he asked, “Kid, tell me the truth—are you really my comrade’s son?” 

An An watched as Gu Weicheng’s tall figure disappeared into the distance, then gave Hu Songlin a look that practically screamed, ‘Uncle, you’re way too easy to fool.’

Shaking his head, he replied seriously, “Didn’t that soldier uncle just say? I only said that so the trafficker wouldn’t take me.” 

Hu Songlin: “…”

Why did he feel like he was being looked down upon by a little kid?

“But my father is also a soldier! My mother and I are on our way to the army base to find him!” An An spoke with pride when mentioning his father, his small face beaming with admiration.

“Oh? That’s impressive! I knew you looked different from the average kid—you have the bearing of a soldier. So, you really are the child of a soldier!” Hu Songlin chuckled. “Where’s your mother? I haven’t seen her.”

An An replied, “Mom went to the restroom.”

Meanwhile, Li Xia was enduring the suffocating stench inside the cramped and narrow train restroom.

Since the wooden bucket beneath her had an open bottom, the rumbling of the train’s operation was especially loud. The constant roaring noise filled her ears, making it impossible to hear anything happening outside.

There were no sanitary pads available in the restroom, only rough toilet paper commonly used during menstruation. However, in her haste before departure, she hadn’t anticipated her period arriving on the train and hadn’t brought any supplies.

Left with no choice, she layered several sheets of the rough toilet paper inside her underwear, hoping to prevent any leakage.

By the time she stepped out of the restroom, she overheard fragments of conversation from the passengers in the carriage—words like “human trafficker,” “the child’s mother,” and “pretending to be the father.”

Her heart instantly jumped to her throat.

No! Could something have happened to An An?

She quickened her pace, rushing forward anxiously. It wasn’t until she spotted An An sitting safely in his seat that she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as An An saw his mother return, he immediately called out, “Mommy!” 

“An An.” Li Xia walked over and noticed a man in a military uniform standing beside her son. She addressed him politely, “Hello, Comrade. May I ask what happened?” 

Hu Songlin was momentarily stunned when he saw Li Xia—this female comrade was stunning, even more beautiful than the performers in the army’s cultural troupe. 

But he quickly snapped out of it. ‘What are you thinking, Hu Songlin?’ She’s already married and has a child! 

“Hello, Comrade,” Hu Songlin greeted her before explaining everything that had just happened—the encounter with the child trafficker and how An An had cleverly exposed the man. 

Li Xia’s heart pounded with fear. She hadn’t expected that in just the short time she was away, a trafficker would have already targeted An An and even gone so far as to pretend to be his father. Clearly, they had been watched for some time. 

She would have to be even more cautious from now on. Even when going to the restroom, she needed to bring An An with her. If that wasn’t possible, she should at least leave him with the train attendants before stepping away. 

“Comrade, I can’t thank you enough! Thank you for saving An An!” Li Xia said sincerely, expressing her deep gratitude. She then opened her bundle and took out some peach pastries. 

“I don’t have much to give, but please accept these peach pastries as a token of my appreciation.” 

“No need, no need,” Hu Songlin waved his hand dismissively. “It was just a small effort. As soldiers, serving the people is our duty. Besides, An An is the real smart one—he was the one who ran up to my comrade, grabbed his leg, and called him ‘Daddy’ to expose the trafficker.” 

No matter how Li Xia insisted, Hu Songlin firmly refused to accept the pastries. 

Since he wouldn’t take them, Li Xia didn’t push further. Instead, she turned to An An and said, “An An, say goodbye to Uncle.” 

“Thank you, Uncle! Goodbye, Uncle!” An An said cheerfully, even saluting Hu Songlin like a little soldier. 

Seeing this, Hu Songlin returned An An’s salute with a crisp, standard military salute of his own. 

After Hu Songlin left, An An turned to Li Xia and asked, “Mommy, does Daddy wear the same uniform?” 

Li Xia nodded. “Yes, Daddy wears the same uniform.” 

The uniform Hu Songlin wore was an army green military uniform, just like the one Gu Weicheng wore. Since Gu Weicheng was also in the army, his uniform was bound to be the same, though they belonged to different divisions. 

An An clenched his fists and made a firm declaration, “It looks so impressive! When I grow up, I want to be a soldier too and wear a uniform just like that!” 

Li Xia smiled and encouraged him, “An An is so smart and brave—you’ll definitely be able to do it!” 

Though they had just experienced a terrifying encounter with a child trafficker, the outcome had been a good one. An An had been quick-witted and courageous in the face of danger, and Li Xia made sure to praise him for it. 

Meanwhile, in another part of the train, Gu Weicheng had pursued the trafficker through three carriages before finally catching up to him. 

To his surprise, the trafficker had a knife hidden on him. The moment he saw Gu Weicheng closing in, he pulled it out without hesitation. 

But Gu Weicheng’s reflexes were swift. With a powerful kick to the man’s chest, he sent the trafficker crashing to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Gu Weicheng seized the man’s arm and twisted it with a sharp ‘crack’—a pained howl erupted from the trafficker’s lips, and the knife clattered to the floor. 

Without wasting a second, Gu Weicheng kicked the weapon aside, ensuring the man couldn’t reach it again. 

Hu Songlin arrived just in time, scooped up the weapon, and restrained the trafficker before handing him over to the train’s security officers. 

Their mission required them to disembark at the next station, so they couldn’t stay long. 

As they walked back, Hu Songlin casually remarked, “Commander Gu, I saw the child’s mother. I’m telling you, that female comrade is really beautiful—honestly, even prettier than the women in our cultural troupe.” 

Gu Weicheng shot Hu Songlin a sharp glare.

“Hu Songlin, don’t forget your awareness as a soldier. It’s one thing for you to be going on blind dates left and right in the army—political commissar hasn’t said anything about it—but that female comrade already has a family. Watch what you say and don’t make careless remarks.”

Hearing this, Hu Songlin immediately realized that Gu Weicheng had misunderstood him. He sighed in exasperation.

“Commander Gu, listen to yourself! Sure, I’ve been on plenty of blind dates in the army, but that’s only because I haven’t found the right person yet! It’s not like I wouldn’t want to get married after just one meeting if I could. You got married early, so you don’t understand the struggles of us single folks.”

“And besides, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just saying—how long have you and Sister-in-law been married? That kid An An looks so much like you. Could it be that he really is your son, and Sister-in-law brought him to the army base to find you?”

It wasn’t Hu Songlin’s fault for overthinking things—An An and Gu Weicheng looked almost identical. The more he looked, the more convinced he became!

The moment Gu Weicheng heard Hu Songlin mention Li Xia, his expression darkened instantly.

“Impossible. Don’t talk nonsense.”

Yesterday, he had taken some time to visit Daxi Village, only to hear that Li Xia had already run off with Zhou Qingshan.

Li Xia…

Were you really that impatient?

You couldn’t even wait for me to come back and settle the divorce procedures with you?