Chapter 85.1

When Jiang Nian and Yue Qiao went out, the security department had already taken away the people outside. They didn’t see the commotion and didn’t know what exactly happened.

Today, Lan Hui and Tian Mai were also present. When Tian Mai saw Jiang Nian, she took the initiative to tell her about the incident that had occurred outside the military base.

The people involved were Li Pandi’s biological mother and a man from their village who had an unclear relationship with Li Pandi. When they arrived at the military base, they asked to see Deputy Commander Luo, insisting that he return Luo Xiaoyue to them. They claimed that Luo Xiaoyue was not Deputy Commander Luo’s child but rather the child of Li Pandi and the man. Li Pandi’s mother was very certain about this.

Lan Hui commented, “Who knows if it’s true?”

He Yue, intrigued, quickly asked, “What did Deputy Commander Luo say?”

Tian Mai replied, “Deputy Commander Luo didn’t show up. The two people were taken away by the security department. I guess Deputy Commander Luo went straight to the security department. Luo Xiaoyue is still at school and doesn’t know about this yet.”

Yue Qiao frowned but said nothing, planning to ask her husband, Old Lei, if the man was the one with an unclear relationship with Li Pandi. She also wanted to know why Li Pandi’s mother and the man came to the military base to cause trouble.

Tian Mai leaned closer to Jiang Nian and whispered, “Guess what I just saw?”

Curious, Jiang Nian asked, “What did you see?”

Tian Mai whispered, “I noticed that Luo Xiaoyue looks quite similar to that man. At first glance, I thought they were father and daughter. Given that they came to see Deputy Commander Luo today, claiming to want to see Luo Xiaoyue, I suspect it might be related to this matter.”

She paused, glanced at the others chatting, and continued to Jiang Nian, “Do you think Luo Xiaoyue might not be Deputy Commander Luo’s daughter? Could Li Pandi’s divorce from Deputy Commander Luo be because she was involved with another man?”

Tian Mai’s guess was actually correct.

However, Jiang Nian didn’t say anything. After they returned, Yue Qiao went to find Guan Lu first and told her everything. After that, she ran to find Jiang Nian, sat on the bench, and started talking non-stop. Although Yue Qiao had never seen the man, she had heard Old Lei mention the matter. Now, she was entirely focused on wondering if that man was actually Luo Yue’s biological father, coming to find his daughter.

With things escalating to this point, where was Li Pandi?

Yue Qiao left when it was almost dark. Jiang Nian went into the kitchen to make dinner and waited for Lu Yu to return. She ended up eating by herself, washing up, and going to bed. Around midnight, Lu Yu came back. Jiang Nian, not sleeping well, heard the door open and got up. Lu Yu placed two watermelons on the table and told Jiang Nian, “I bought these outside. They should be pretty sweet.”

Jiang Nian, craving watermelon, immediately took one to the kitchen and cut a slice. While eating, she asked Lu Yu about the big news from the afternoon. Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian, who was wearing only a vest and shorts, his eyes darkening slightly. He approached, picked her up, and sat her on his lap, kissing her puffed-up cheek. “What do you want to find out?”

Jiang Nian’s eyes curved into a smile. She kissed Lu Yu’s lips with her watermelon-juiced lips. Just as she was about to pull away, the man held her by the back of her neck, pried open her teeth, and sucked on her tongue. His hand caressed her exposed waistline, and he smiled with his eyes: “Is the watermelon sweet?”

Jiang Nian’s mind went blank from the kiss. She leaned into Lu Yu’s arms for a moment, nodded, and said, “Sweet.”

She then remembered the matter about Luo Xiaoyue, took a breath, and looked up at Lu Yu. “What was the deal with Deputy Commander Luo this afternoon?”

She was genuinely curious.

At this moment, she felt like a raccoon in a watermelon field, eating the melon while eager to hear more gossip.

Lu Yu said, “Luo Xiaoyue isn’t the child of Luo Chengyi and Li Pandi. She’s the daughter of Li Pandi and Qi Dawang. Nine years ago, before Li Pandi married Luo Chengyi, she had an unclear relationship with Qi Dawang from the same village. Li Pandi’s mother, satisfied with having a son-in-law who was a captain, kept it a secret. Eventually, Luo Chengyi found out and divorced Li Pandi.”

So that’s how it was.

Qi Dawang was the man who came with Li Pandi’s mother today.

Jiang Nian finished her watermelon and put the rind on the table. “Did Qi Dawang not know about Luo Xiaoyue’s true parentage before?”

Lu Yu held Jiang Nian in his strong arms. She was almost engulfed in his firm chest, her chin resting on his collarbone. Listening to his steady breathing, she finally heard him say after a while, “He didn’t know.”

He then told Jiang Nian everything that had happened at the security department today.

Li Pandi’s family valued sons over daughters. She was the eldest, with two younger brothers. Li Pandi got married a few years ago, and the second one got married this year, but all the family’s money had been spent on Li Pandi’s wedding. Li Pandi’s mother saw that Qi Dawang was still fond of Li Pandi and arranged for him to marry her, using the bride price to marry off her third son.

But Qi Dawang didn’t give much for the bride price, so the old lady had an idea. She told Qi Dawang about Luo Xiaoyue, saying that Li Pandi had given birth to a daughter for him, who was Luo Xiaoyue. The deal of ‘buy one, get one free’ was something hard to come by.

When Qi Dawang heard this, he immediately agreed to give the old lady 400 yuan for the bride price on the condition that she go with him to the military base to get Luo Xiaoyue back. After all, this daughter could be married off in the future for a good bride price, and he could still marry Li Pandi. No matter how he looked at it, it was a profitable deal.

Blinded by money, the old lady brought Qi Dawang to the military base to cause a scene, revealing everything.

Jiang Nian listened as Lu Yu recounted the aftermath. Deputy Commander Luo returned Luo Xiaoyue to Li Pandi’s mother and Qi Dawang. He also informed the guards that if Li Pandi or her family caused trouble again, they should contact the security department directly, as he wouldn’t see them.

After hearing all this, Jiang Nian felt a bit emotional.

Deputy Commander Luo was really unfortunate, raising a child for nine years only to find out she was his ex-wife’s lover’s daughter. Moreover, this fake daughter almost endangered his biological child. Luckily, Guan Lu was safe. If something had happened to her, Deputy Commander Luo would have been even more devastated.

However, Jiang Nian found it quite coincidental that this matter was revealed now.

She had suspected that Luo Xiaoyue wasn’t Deputy Commander Luo’s child a while ago, and now the truth was out. She thought Luo Xiaoyue might be sent back to the countryside, but she was completely sent away instead, eliminating any hidden danger around Guan Lu.

Jiang Nian shared this thought with Lu Yu, then rested her head on his chest and kissed his Adam’s apple.

This unconscious act of affection made Lu Yu’s muscles tense. He grabbed her waist and lifted her, seating her to face him. Jiang Nian’s slender legs dangled, her cheeks flushed red. Her short vest revealed her slim waist, and Lu Yu’s hand slowly brushed up that small waist.

Jiang Nian’s breath quickened, her fingers tightening on Lu Yu’s shoulder. At that moment, she realized one thing.