Chapter 34

Lin Jiantong quickly stopped talking, immediately regretting it.

Why was he talking about this to a young girl?

Even as a grown man, he had been terrified listening to stories from the battlefield back then—he couldn’t sleep for several nights.

Besides, he was a doctor!

Song Si quickly spoke up, “Uncle Lin, don’t listen to him exaggerating. I’m not that timid.”

Her bright, limpid eyes turned to look at Lu Yancheng, instantly filled with a different kind of light.

[Judging by the timeline, wasn’t it twelve years ago?]

[He fought against White Elephant?]

White Elephant?

Lu Yancheng was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood what she meant.

Honestly, that name was quite fitting!

Song Si asked softly, “Were you badly injured?”

Lu Yancheng replied, “It wasn’t too bad. Not too serious.”

Lin Jiantong, on the side, couldn’t help himself. “Yeah, not too serious—just laid in a hospital bed for over a year.”

Lu Yancheng, “……”

He instinctively looked at Song Si.

She was silently staring at him, not saying a word.

[No wonder the system said if it slandered him, it would get warned—he’s a pillar of the nation, a soldier who’s fought on the battlefield, a hero in the people’s hearts.]

Lu Yancheng felt completely uncomfortable. This was the first time she had looked at him like that—wanting to say something, but unsure of what to say.

To him, it was no big deal. It was something he should’ve done, something every hot-blooded Chinese man ought to do.

Lin Jiantong added, “Si Si, you have to keep an eye on him from now on. Don’t let him act so recklessly again.”

Song Si said, “Alright. Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Lin.”

Lin Jiantong gave her another look, full of regret.

She didn’t want to find her biological mother?

She must be Ayun’s daughter, right?

After hesitating a bit, he walked over, picked up Song Si’s pencil, and wrote a phone number in the blank space of the Go (Weiqi) problem book. “Si Si, if you ever need help, just call Uncle Lin anytime.”

Song Si responded, “Okay, thank you, Uncle Lin.”

Lin Jiantong said he had things to take care of and left the hospital room. He had barely walked a few steps when he ran into Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen on their way back.

“Old Lin.”

“Old Lu.”

Lin Jiantong looked at them and said, “I’ve already spoken to Xiao Chen about the old lady’s condition. It’s no longer serious. If she wants to be discharged, just let her.”

Lu Yuanzheng replied, “Thank you.”

Lin Jiantong’s eyes landed on the large stack of books in Lu Yuanzheng’s arms, and his gaze lingered. “Did you buy those for Si Si?”

Si Si?

Hearing him address Song Si like that, Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen paused and looked at their old friend.

Lin Jiantong took a deep breath, his voice choked with emotion. “Si Si might be Ayun’s daughter. Please take good care of her.”

Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen were frozen in place.

Old Lin had remained unmarried all these years, waiting for his Ayun.

Si Si is Ayun’s daughter?

How could that be possible?

They were somewhat familiar with Ayun, and yet also not.

Most of what they knew came from what their friend had told them over the years, so the name felt familiar.

But in truth, they’d only met her once.

Lin Jiantong spoke softly, “Si Si looks exactly like her—before she got injured. Maybe you two just didn’t notice.”

Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen nodded but couldn’t bring themselves to say anything.

This is all too much of a coincidence.

Should they tell their old friend that this Si Si might not be the original one?

Though they couldn’t be certain she had reincarnated, her inner thoughts didn’t seem like they belonged to someone from this era!

But wait—

Old Lin can’t hear Si Si’s inner thoughts?

Lu Yuanzheng couldn’t help but ask, “Did you notice anything different about Si Si compared to other girls?”

Lin Jiantong paused. “Different how?”

“Prettier?”

“She has a certain unique quality. It’s nice. Her personality’s not like her mother’s.”

Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen exchanged glances.

So Old Lin really couldn’t hear Si Si’s inner voice?

Lu Yuanzheng was stunned for a few seconds before snapping back to reality and quickly asking, “Did you mention it to her?”

Lin Jiantong smiled bitterly, his voice low. “I did. She said she doesn’t want to look for her birth parents.”

Lu Yuanzheng, “……”

He Yunzhen, “……”

They remembered their son saying that in the past life, her biological parents didn’t treat her well.

Was that why?

All of this made her inner voice seem genuine, not like a lie at all.

Could she really be someone reborn?

Lin Jiantong said, “I’ll get back to work.”

Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen replied, “Alright.”

When they returned to the hospital room and looked at Song Si, their expressions had become much more complicated.

Now what?

Old Song and Old Li were still waiting for their update!

But their son had said he liked her!

And now she might be Ayun’s daughter…

He Yunzhen couldn’t help but glance at Song Si a few more times.

She really did look like Ayun when she was young?

No wonder Old Lin had remained unmarried for so many years, still yearning for Ayun.

If Song Si insisted they get divorced, would her son become another Old Lin?

She suddenly didn’t know what to do.

Lu Yuanzheng wasn’t thinking that far ahead. What he really wanted was to look through the Go books, but he felt embarrassed to do it in front of Song Si.

“Si Si, why don’t you and Yancheng go rest? Your mom and I will stay here.”

Song Si looked at Lu Yancheng and said, “Alright, Dad. He didn’t sleep well last night or today—he should take a nap.”

[I’ll never call him a dog-man again. He’s a battle-hardened soldier who fought against White Elephant.]

Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen were both confused.

White Elephant?

Like… an actual elephant?

No matter how reckless Yancheng is, he wouldn’t go fight an elephant, would he?

Fighting an elephant makes you a battle-hardened hero?

That’s suicidal, isn’t it? Isn’t that just dumb?

They both turned to look at Lu Yancheng.

He said in a low voice, “Grandma wants to be discharged. I’ll sleep here for a while. Once she wakes up, we’ll handle the paperwork and go back to the ancestral home to stay for a few days and pay our respects.”

Song Si replied, “Alright then.”

She looked at Lu Yuanzheng and He Yunzhen, curiosity in her gaze.

[Were my in-laws also soldiers in the past?]

Lu Yuanzheng gave a slight cough. He really wanted to share stories of his past glory, but Song Si hadn’t actually asked—she was only thinking it.

How was he supposed to bring it up without sounding awkward or impolite?

He looked at Lu Yancheng, eyes filled with desperate signals.

Lu Yancheng remained silent.

Lu Yuanzheng’s face changed.

All he wanted was to save a bit of face after losing three games of Go and getting completely wiped out by his daughter-in-law—and it was this hard?!

Meanwhile, He Yunzhen suddenly felt like maybe she didn’t dislike Song Si that much anymore.

Sure, she could be sharp-tongued at times—but she genuinely seemed to care about her son.

Just as she was deep in thought, a sudden knock came at the door—loud and urgent.

Lu Yancheng walked over and opened it. It was his father’s secretary.

“Secretary Wang.”

“Captain Lu.”

After greeting Lu Yancheng, Secretary Wang immediately looked toward Lu Yuanzheng. “Mayor Lu, there’s an urgent meeting from the provincial office. They need you to attend in person, so I came to pick you up.”

Lu Yuanzheng had been planning to join them in visiting the ancestral home, but upon hearing this, he nodded. “Alright, got it.”

He turned to He Yunzhen and said seriously, “You go with Yancheng, Mom, and Si Si to the ancestral home. I’ll head to the province first.”

He Yunzhen replied, “Alright, go ahead.”

Lu Yuanzheng looked at Lu Yancheng. “Take good care of your mom, Si Si, and your grandma.”

Lu Yancheng, “Okay.”

On the side, Song Si was stunned.

[Father-in-law is the mayor? What about mother-in-law then?]

[No wonder the female lead wanted to steal my husband.]