Chapter 8: I’ve Always Hoped You Would Come

A… child? He and Li Xia… when did they have a child?

Could it be that this child…

The more Gu Weicheng thought about it, the heavier his heart felt.

Hu Songlin was momentarily stunned—not because he was shocked, but because he felt deeply hurt. He and Gu Weicheng had been comrades for so many years, yet Gu Weicheng had a child and never told him?!

Did he even consider him a brother anymore?!

“Understood, Commander,” Gu Weicheng said.

As soon as they stepped out of the commander’s office, Hu Songlin immediately hooked an arm around Gu Weicheng’s neck and said irritably,

“Gu Weicheng, you little brat, you’ve got some nerve! You had a child and didn’t even tell me? Do you still see me as your brother or not? If I had known Sister-in-law gave birth, wouldn’t I have prepared a gift for the child? At the very least, I should be the godfather, right?”

Gu Weicheng wasn’t in the mood to joke around. His face remained cold as he replied, “I only just found out about this myself.”

Hu Songlin was stunned again. “Wait, are you saying…”

The rest of his sentence stuck in his throat.

Could it be… that his brother had been cuckolded? After all, he hadn’t been home in years.

The way Hu Songlin looked at Gu Weicheng instantly turned into one of pity.

“Put away that sympathetic look,” Gu Weicheng said icily. He didn’t need anyone’s pity.

“Alright, alright, I’ll put it away. The commander said they’re staying at the guesthouse right now, right? Let me go with you to check things out.” Hu Songlin suggested.

After all, if that child really wasn’t Gu Weicheng’s…

Sigh, he truly didn’t know what to do. What kind of mess was this?

When they arrived at the guesthouse, the female soldier on duty immediately informed them of Li Xia’s room number the moment she saw Gu Weicheng.

The door to the room wasn’t fully closed—there was a small gap left open, purposely left by Li Xia for ventilation.

Inside, a gentle female voice mingled with the soft, childish tones of a young child.

“Mommy, do the Liberation Army uncles have to run that many laps every day?”

“Mhm, not only do they have to run many laps, but they also have to complete even more training tasks. It’s all to prepare for battle. The Liberation Army is the most admirable group of people in the world—without them, we wouldn’t have the peace and stability we enjoy today.”

“Daddy is also in the Liberation Army. Does that mean Daddy is the most admirable person too?”

“Of course! Daddy is also the most admirable person,” Li Xia patiently taught An An.

Every word of their conversation reached the ears of the two men outside the door.

Hu Songlin whispered, “Commander Gu, from the way Sister-in-law speaks, she sounds like someone with good sense. She doesn’t seem like that kind of person. Maybe there’s been some misunderstanding.”

He hoped so.

After all, they were husband and wife—Gu Weicheng didn’t want to assume the worst of Li Xia. Stepping forward, he knocked on the door.

Inside the room, An An heard the knock at the door and immediately ran over to open it. “It must be Uncle Li!”

The door swung open, and An An looked up, only to realize that the person standing outside wasn’t Uncle Xiao Li. But—he was also a soldier, someone he had seen before!

An An turned around excitedly and called out to Li Xia, “Mommy, it’s the two Liberation Army uncles I met on the train!”

“An An!” Hu Songlin was just as surprised when he saw the child. In an instant, everything clicked. “So your father is Commander Gu?”

Looking at An An’s face, what else was there to doubt?

An An hadn’t expected that the Liberation Army uncle he had met on the train—the one he had called “Daddy”—was actually his real father.

He turned back to Li Xia, searching for an answer.

Li Xia rose from her chair, her gaze settling on Gu Weicheng.

Sharp brows, deep-set eyes, striking features, and a jawline as if carved by a blade—just like the protagonist of a novel. His looks were, undeniably, outstanding.

Putting everything else aside, when it came to looks, Gu Weicheng was miles ahead of Zhou Qingshan. She truly couldn’t understand why the original Li Xia had ever liked Zhou Qingshan.

“An An, call Daddy,” Li Xia gave An An an encouraging look.

An An had finally received confirmation, yet for some reason, he hesitated.

Before meeting his father, he had been filled with excitement and anticipation. But now that Daddy was standing right in front of him, he suddenly found himself unable to say the word.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Gu Weicheng didn’t blame him in the slightest. He crouched down so that he was at eye level with An An, making sure the child wouldn’t have to look up at him. “Your name is An An?”

Years of commanding soldiers had made Gu Weicheng’s tone naturally firm and authoritative. Worried that it might scare the child, he deliberately softened his voice. The result was somewhat awkward.

An An nodded and said softly, “An An is my nickname. My full name is Gu Shi’an. ‘Gu’ as in ‘care,’ ‘Shi’ as in ‘time,’ and ‘An’ as in ‘peace.’”

Gu Shi’an—he carried his surname. He was his son.

Not just because of the name—An An looked so much like him.

Gu Weicheng stared at the little boy who was standing so seriously in front of him. A warmth spread in his chest. “It’s a good name.”

An An grinned and glanced at Li Xia. “Mommy gave me my name!”

Gu Weicheng reached into his pocket, hoping to find some candy for the child. But he had come in such a hurry that he hadn’t prepared anything. His pockets were completely empty.

“I’ve got some, I’ve got some!” Hu Songlin quickly pulled out a few fruit candies from his own pocket and handed them over.

Gu Weicheng took the candies and gave them all to An An before turning to Hu Songlin and saying, “You can leave now.”

Hu Songlin: “……”

So, now that he had played his part, he was just being dismissed?

Fine. Considering that his good brother had finally reunited with his wife and child, he would let it slide.

“Alright then, I’ll head out. You three take your time to talk. Sister-in-law, I’ll be leaving first,” Hu Songlin said, giving Li Xia a nod.

Li Xia nodded back and watched as Hu Songlin walked away.

Once he was gone, Li Xia finally spoke. “An An was born four years ago. Here’s his birth certificate. His birthday is in May…”

Before Li Xia could finish speaking, Gu Weicheng interrupted, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t there when you gave birth to our child. Raising a child isn’t easy—you must have had a hard time all these years.”

Li Xia froze.

She had been worried that Gu Weicheng would doubt whether An An was really his son. That was why she had deliberately taken out the birth certificate to show him.

After all, from the very beginning, the original Li Xia had never had feelings for Gu Weicheng—her heart had always belonged to Zhou Qingshan. They hadn’t seen each other for so many years, and now, out of nowhere, a child had appeared. Anyone in his position would have doubts.

Yet, the first thing he said was an apology.

Then again, it made sense—An An looked just like him.

Before seeing Gu Weicheng in person, Li Xia had only known from the novel’s descriptions that An An resembled his father. But there had been no way to fully grasp just how much until now.

Now that she was face to face with Gu Weicheng, everything was clear.

An An was practically a miniature version of Gu Weicheng—just a much cuter one.

“You don’t need to apologize. This wasn’t your fault,” Li Xia said.

How could she blame him? The original Li Xia had never even told him she was pregnant, let alone tried to contact him.

“Regardless, when it comes to this matter, I owe you,” Gu Weicheng said.

Thinking back to the divorce letter he had received earlier, he couldn’t help but wonder if Li Xia had come to the army base specifically to finalize their separation. Had she decided to seek him out because he had never returned home?

If there had been no child, he would have agreed to the divorce without hesitation. But now that they had a son…

Although there had only been that one impulsive night between them, and there were no real feelings between them, for the sake of their child, he wanted her to reconsider.

No one understood better than him how hard life could be for a child growing up without their mother.

Gu Weicheng finally spoke, “I received your letter before. This time, you came here to…?”

Li Xia spoke directly, “I had a falling-out with my uncle and his family. I can’t stay in my hometown anymore, so I brought An An here to relocate with the military. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

“Relocate with the military?” Gu Weicheng’s tightly pressed lips visibly curved upward. He immediately responded,

“Of course, I have no objections. I just came from the Brigade Commander’s office, and he also said that having you both here is a good thing.”

Li Xia glanced at him and asked, “So, you’re only agreeing because your commander said so?”

Gu Weicheng denied it at once, “Of course not! I’ve always hoped you would come.”

Seeing his tense expression, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing, Li Xia couldn’t help but smile. Watching such a serious man flustered like this was unexpectedly amusing.