Chapter 69

Upon hearing the word ‘Grandpa,’ General Lu revealed a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

He glanced at Gu Qinghan, then nodded and said, “Let’s go inside.”

With that, he turned and walked back into the house with his hands behind his back.

Gu Qinghan watched General Lu’s retreating figure before turning to his wife. He then asked, puzzled, “What’s going on?”

He had rushed home to see his wife and daughter, pushing aside all his subordinate’s matters until tomorrow. He hadn’t expected to find General Lu at their home and that Wen Nuan would even have him call “Grandpa.”

Wen Nuan met her husband’s confused gaze and spoke softly, “This matter can’t be explained clearly in just a few words. Grandpa will return to Beijing after dinner. Just put your luggage away first, and I’ll explain everything to you later.”

“Alright.” Gu Qinghan’s gaze remained fixed on his wife, and then he smiled.

Wen Nuan looked him over carefully and asked, “How did the test flight go this time? Was it smooth?”

“Not too bad. The shaking issue from last time is still there; I’ll see how Comrade Liu and the others can improve it,” Gu Qinghan mentioned about work and then asked her, “Have you encountered any difficulties at the family compound with Lele?”

Wen Nuan smiled and said, “There was a little incident, but we can talk about it later. Are you hungry? You should wash your hands so we can eat.”

“I’m not very hungry.” Gu Qinghan took Wen Nuan’s hand and quietly asked, “You still haven’t said whether you missed me.”

Wen Nuan didn’t expect him to be concerned about this at such a moment, so she pinched his waist again and said, “Of course I missed you. I missed you day and night.”

When Gu Qinghan heard this, his heart filled with joy. He wanted to pull her in for a kiss, but Wen Nuan had already bent down to pick up his luggage from the ground.

Gu Qinghan walked over to take the things from her hands and said, “I’ll take care of it.”

Wen Nuan patted the snow off his shoulders and replied, “Then you can put your luggage away first; it’s just in time for us to eat.”

Seeing Gu Qinghan go to put away his luggage, Wen Nuan returned to the kitchen to help Xiao Zhang. However, Xiao Zhang had already finished cooking the last dish, stir-fried goose gizzards with bamboo shoots.

The two of them brought the prepared dishes out to the living room. General Lu had turned on the radio for little Lele. Ever since they had gotten a radio at home, Lele had been wanting to turn it on all day.

At that moment, the central news was being broadcast. An old man and a small child were gathered around the radio, listening very intently.

Just a moment ago, when Gu Qinghan returned home, Lele hadn’t rushed over to hug him, focusing entirely on listening to the broadcast.

Wen Nuan brought out the last dish and called out to them, “Grandpa, Lele, it’s time to eat!”

By this time, Gu Qinghan had freshened up and looked much more energized. Lele, who had been engrossed in the radio and had ignored Gu Qinghan earlier, immediately ran over and hugged Gu Qinghan’s leg. She then shouted: “Daddy, you’re back!”

Gu Qinghan reached down and easily picked up the little guy, asking, “Now you know I’m back? Did you miss Daddy?”

Lele, the little bun, nodded eagerly, giving him face: “I missed Daddy!”

General Lu watched as Lele, who had just been begging him for a hug, now clung to Gu Qinghan instead. He couldn’t help but say, “You’ve traveled a long way; let’s eat first.”

The four adults and one child sat around the small Eight Immortals table for dinner. General Lu looked at Lele, who was pestering Gu Qinghan to feed him and then glanced at his granddaughter.

He had also eaten here yesterday and noticed that Wen Nuan and the little girl, Qinglan, had plenty to talk about, so the meal had gone smoothly without any awkward pauses. However, tonight’s atmosphere felt colder than last night’s. Could it be that he had been too indifferent towards Gu Qinghan earlier?

So, General Lu racked his brain and tried hard to appear amiable, asking, “Xiao Nuan, are you all settling in well in this house?”

Wen Nuan nodded and replied, “It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

General Lu surveyed the surroundings and asked, “Don’t you think it feels a bit cramped? Is it too cold in winter? Should I have General Xu find you a bigger place?”

Xiao Zhang, who had been quietly eating, looked at General Lu in surprise.

He had been with General Lu for several years, and this was the first time he had heard him say something like that.

In the past, he wouldn’t have cared where you lived, and if anyone dared to be picky, they might even get a reprimand.

Moreover, after being scolded countless times over the years, seeing General Lu act so deliberately amiable felt oddly out of place.

But he couldn’t say anything and could only keep his head down and eat.

Wen Nuan smiled and said, “No need. It’s quite good living here, and we just installed a kang recently, so it’s not cold at night.”

The key point was that Gu Qinghan’s rank wasn’t high enough to qualify for a courtyard house. If General Lu really found them a new place, they wouldn’t dare to move.

Besides, this place was just fine; the house was a bit smaller, which made it feel less empty and cold in the winter.

General Lu was not convinced and asked again, “Would you like to go to Beijing with Grandpa? The family compound there is better, and they have more things for sale.”

His intention was definitely to take Wen Nuan back to Beijing to acknowledge her roots and, by the way, let her meet some relatives. However, this matter still needed to be discussed with her.

If it weren’t for Gu Qinghan, he might not have cared whether he took Wen Nuan back or not. The key issue now was that she had her own family, which meant there were more factors to consider.

After thinking about it, he glanced at Gu Qinghan with dissatisfaction. He saw Lele using her chubby little hands to pick a piece of meat from her bowl and hand it to him. “Daddy, eat,” she said.

Gu Qinghan showed no disdain at all; her eyes softened as she directly took the meat that Lele offered. “Thank you.”

The interaction between the two, one big and one small, was indeed very harmonious.

Moreover, if it weren’t for Gu Qinghan, he would have likely never encountered Wen Nuan in this lifetime, nor would he have had the chance to bring her back into the family.

Thinking this way, this grandson-in-law seemed to have a bit of usefulness.

Wen Nuan smiled and served a piece of lean chicken to General Lu, saying, “No need, Grandpa. Northern City is just fine.”

Of course, she had considered going to Beijing, but not relying on General Lu. Instead, she planned to wait a few years until the college entrance examination restrictions were lifted before going there to study.

Furthermore, with Gu Qinghan around, she felt a sense of unease.

She also sensed the underlying meaning in General Lu’s words; if she agreed, he would immediately arrange for Gu Qinghan to be transferred to Beijing, which would likely mean separating their family.

But there was no need for that. Wen Nuan believed that one day, Gu Qinghan would reach the Beijing Air Base based on her own abilities, not by relying on anyone.

Similarly, she believed she could get into a university in Beijing, and at that time, she could move there with legitimacy.

Hearing Wen Nuan’s refusal, General Lu felt increasingly proud of this granddaughter.

If an ordinary person discovered that they had a grandfather who was a general, they would probably do everything they could to curry favor with him and try to win his affection.

Suddenly, he recalled the incident earlier in the day when Wen Nuan was cleaning ginger in the kitchen. General Lu found it quite refreshing. His granddaughter seemed very different from others, to the point that it made him feel especially gratified and proud.

After dinner, Gu Qinghan began to clear away the dishes. Seeing this, General Lu couldn’t help but nod in approval.

This grandson-in-law was not bad; he even knew how to help his granddaughter with some household chores. He just didn’t know if it was all an act.

On the other side, Wen Nuan was packing some egg cakes for General Lu. These were made by her colleagues in the kitchen together with her that afternoon, and she had saved a few pieces for him.

Wen Nuan placed the neatly packed items on the coffee table and said, “Grandpa, this is egg cake. It’s getting cooler now, so it should be fine for a couple of days.”

“There are also a few cow ears. Xiao Zhang said he liked them, so I packed some for you all.”

General Lu glanced at Xiao Zhang, who was sitting nearby listening to the radio, and said discontentedly, “What do you care about him for? All he thinks about is food every day.”

Xiao Zhang: “…”

Innocently caught in the crossfire.

Wen Nuan smiled and said, “Xiao Zhang has been busy these past two days. He was really working hard.”

Upon hearing Wen Nuan’s refreshing words, Xiao Zhang felt a warmth in his heart and immediately began to flatter her, “Thank you, Comrade Wen. I’m not tired at all.”

General Lu snorted at Xiao Zhang.

Wen Nuan saw General Lu out the door while Gu Qinghan followed behind, holding Lele. The wind and snow outside had lessened a bit, making it not too dangerous to drive at night.

Lele watched as General Lu and Xiao Zhang both got into the jeep and insisted on getting in as well, “Great-grandfather, I want to ride in the car too.”

Gu Qinghan softly coaxed, “Great-grandfather is going back to work now.”

“If you want to ride in the car, your daddy will take you tomorrow.”

Lele let out a disappointed “Oh” but still waved goodbye to General Lu, saying, “Goodbye, Great-grandfather.”

General Lu looked at the little bun and waved back, “Okay, Lele, goodbye. Great-grandfather will come to see you when he has time.”

After saying a few more words to Lele, Wen Nuan felt a bit cold outside, so she asked Gu Qinghan to take the child back inside first. Then, she began to inquire about He Manqing’s situation.

General Lu said, “Don’t worry, she won’t threaten you in the future.”

Even though The Old Master had once done him a favor, over the years, General Lu had basically fulfilled every request from their family. He had even managed to get He Manqing into the army, which was already a kindness beyond measure.

Moreover, since He Old Master had passed away, any debts of gratitude had long been repaid, and there was absolutely no need to feel guilty about He Manqing.

Wen Nuan nodded, then suddenly remembered that General Lu had once visited her hometown and met her father and mother. She couldn’t help but remind him, “Grandpa, if my adoptive parents’ people come looking for you, you don’t have to fulfill their requests either.”

General Lu looked at his granddaughter with appreciation and nodded, “I know. I am fully aware of how the Wen family treated you in the past.”

He was very clear about how the Wen family had treated Wen Nuan. Although they had raised her, the debts owed still needed to be accounted for.

Wen Nuan nodded in agreement, “That’s good.”

After seeing General Lu’s car leave, Wen Nuan returned home.

Gu Qinghan and Lele were fiddling with the radio in the living room. It was uncertain whether it was the right time, as many stations could not be received, only the intermittent sound of static like falling snow.

Seeing Wen Nuan come back, Gu Qinghan asked, “Did General Lu send this to you?”

Wen Nuan nodded, “Yes, Grandfather said it was a meeting gift for us.”

Taking this opportunity, Wen Nuan explained the matter of recognizing her relatives in detail, concluding with, “That’s how it is.”

Wen Nuan felt a sense of wonder at the butterfly effect; if she hadn’t followed Gu Qinghan to Northern City, it was likely she would never have recognized General Lu in her lifetime.

Gu Qinghan also found it remarkable and sighed, “I never expected that your background would have such hidden circumstances, wife, you…”

Wen Nuan looked over at him, “Hmm? What?”

Gu Qinghan smiled, holding Wen Nuan’s hand, and asked, “Now that you’re General Lu’s granddaughter, you wouldn’t abandon me, right?”

Wen Nuan let out a laugh, pinching the back of Gu Qinghan’s hand playfully and giving him a mock serious look, “What do you think?”

Gu Qinghan looked at her and felt a bit insecure for the first time. He shook his head and then said: “I don’t know.”

Then he added, “But I will work hard to make sure you don’t abandon me.”

—o—o—o—

Lucia’s ramblings: Where can I find a real-life Gu Qinghan? Well, I have to be like Wen Nuan before I can find Qinghan T____T.