Chapter 137: Don’t Smile Like That, It’s Creepy

Luo Zongze chuckled. “There’s probably no one else who could make the old man so happy besides my rascal of a son. I heard that kid even mailed back the black fungus he couldn’t bear to eat in the countryside. My dad brags about it to everyone now.”

“I actually heard about that too. Apparently, my dad was super envious at the time.”

As the conversation flowed, it naturally shifted to the outstanding grandson of the Zhou family.

“Old Commander Zhou, your Zhou Ting is almost twenty-six now, right? It’s time to talk about marriage.”

At the mention of his pride and joy, Old Commander Zhou couldn’t help but beam. “That rascal, I can’t talk any sense into him. Young people nowadays have their own ideas. I won’t meddle in his marriage. He can find someone he likes.”

“Old Commander Zhou, I don’t think you need to worry too much. My husband said he saw Zhou Ting picking out children’s clothes recently. Who knows, maybe before long, you’ll have a granddaughter-in-law and a great-grandson too!”

The speaker had a blunt and straightforward personality and hadn’t thought carefully about whether those words might be inappropriate. It wasn’t until they noticed the shift in everyone’s expression that they realized how serious their comment had been.

They quickly tried to smooth things over. “Maybe he was picking them for a child he doesn’t even know yet.”

Old Commander Zhou’s face darkened. “As a matter of fact, I do know about that. Zhou Ting bought those clothes for his friend’s children. I heard they had twins, and the kids are beautiful. And they didn’t forget us either, they sent over two jars of preserved peaches. Let me tell you, that sweet-and-sour taste was surprisingly good.”

Seeing that the old commander was annoyed, no one dared bring up anything further.

After returning home, the old man immediately called Zhou Ting and brought up the matter.

“You don’t even have a wife, and you’re out there buying kids’ clothes like it’s a hobby. The worst part is someone saw you doing it! Zhou Ting, tell me honestly… will I live to see my own granddaughter-in-law?”

Zhou Ting rubbed his temples. The same old talk again. When would he finally be free from being nagged about marriage?

“I’ll try.”

“You always brush me off like that! I heard that sworn brother of yours got married to a girl arranged by his family. Look at him—married just like that. Should I let your mom pick someone for you too?”

“Grandpa, please stay out of it.”

“But I want to hold my great-grandchild.”

“How about when Third Brother comes back, I ask him if he’d be willing to let me adopt one of his kids?”

Old Commander Zhou took a deep breath. “One of these days, you’re going to be the death of me.” With that, he hung up the phone forcefully.

Hearing the dial tone, Zhou Ting sighed.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to find someone—he just hadn’t met the right person. And he didn’t want to settle.

He shook his head. There was no time for romance. He picked up the phone again and called Zhou Anbang.

“Lately, I found several groups snooping around about Ah Yuan. They might be doubting whether his ‘sacrifice’ was real. No matter what, we can’t let any information leak. I’ll tighten the investigation on my end and try to find out who’s hiding in the shadows.”

Zhou Anbang frowned. “If you need my help, just say the word.”

“Mm, not yet. As for Ah Yuan’s wife, we must keep that a secret.” He was also doing everything he could to erase all traces of Qiu Yinuo’s family.

“Our missions often require going undercover for at least two or three years, sometimes even longer. By the time he comes back, what if Xiao Qiu’s remarried with the kids? Then what? His wife and children would belong to someone else.”

Zhou Ting had never considered that possibility before, and he suddenly fell silent.

If it rains, it rains. If a woman wants to remarry, no one can stop her.

If his sister-in-law remarried, it would be completely understandable.

“When you have time, go see her in person and ask what she really wants. If she’s having a hard time raising the children, come back and tell me. I’ll think of a way to help her. But if she’s planning to remarry… maybe stall her for a year or two. See if there’s anyone suitable in the military. I’ll do my best to get Ah Yuan back sooner.”

Zhou Anbang responded, “…You’re ruthless. You really are.”

Zhou Ting’s face darkened. “I bet she’ll send you some photos this time. Don’t forget to mail me a copy. Oh, and whatever she gives you, I want half.”

Zhou Anbang twitched at the corner of his mouth. He wanted to say that someone so young shouldn’t be so petty.

But then he remembered both of their statuses and realized he didn’t have the right to criticize.

After all, Zhou Ting was senior in rank and whatever he said was law.

…

Ever since Qiu Yinuo promised Menghua it could bind Dabao, she hadn’t been able to escape its constant chatter.

“You can’t go back on your word. I kept your secret, remember? Actually, if Dabao can’t be the one, you could always bind with me yourself.”

Unable to shake it off, Qiu Yinuo finally gave in and began browsing through various system options within the space.

System 3224 no longer hoped they would bind with some high-level system. Instead, it picked ones that were easier to complete. “A lot of readers say the sign-in system is good. Why don’t you have Dabao bind with that one?”

Seeing that she was genuinely checking things seriously, 3224 explained even more enthusiastically. “This one’s super convenient. Just a morning stretch and sign-in every day earns a reward. For Dabao, it’d feel like he doesn’t even have a system.”

After all, without the freakishly clever brain that Erbao had, 3224 didn’t hold much hope for Dabao.

All it wanted was a host to move the progress bar forward, so it could send out daily rewards and not be laughed at by other small systems for being inactive for six years straight.

Qiu Yinuo shook her head. “This one’s not suitable for Dabao.”

“What do you mean it’s not? Don’t you and your son hate trouble? I picked the easiest one. Isn’t this killing two birds with one stone?”

“It’s not good for a kid who lacks self-discipline. It encourages getting rewards without putting in effort.”

3224 rolled its eyes—though since it had no visible eye-whites, the effect wasn’t noticeable.

“Counting this year, he’s already sixteen. He’s not exactly a little kid anymore.”

Qiu Yinuo kept flipping through the system descriptions and said matter-of-factly, “He’s still a little kid in my eyes.”

“This one,” she suddenly said.

3224 looked up. “The ‘Do Good Deeds, Have Great Luck’ system?”

Qiu Yinuo firmly believed that a kind heart would naturally bring good fortune.

3224 locked onto the system and cheerfully said, “Alrighty, it’s settled then!” With that, it got ready to find Dabao and initiate the binding.

But Qiu Yinuo grabbed the ‘little’ panda back before it could leave. She hadn’t dared to mention this inside the space out of fear Dabao might overhear.

“Wait. Let me go talk to him properly first.”

At that moment, Dabao was happily squatting on the ground, watching baby chicks peck at their food. He wondered whether the eggs from chicks raised with spiritual spring water would taste even better.

Gulp, gulp!

He swallowed hard, suddenly resenting his past self for not appreciating good food.

“Dabao, come here.”

Dabao looked up to see his mother smiling in an overly kind and gentle way. Terrified, he instinctively tried to back away—only to forget he was squatting. He ended up falling flat on his backside.

“M-Mom… please don’t smile like that. It’s kind of scary.”