Chapter 698 - She Had Plenty of Time to Ask
“There are many people eating dinner tonight, how about I get someone to buy takeout from Man Jiang Lou?” Lu Jinnan asked.
“It’s okay, I’ll get the food ready in no time…” Lin Nuan put the ingredients together with her head lowered.
Lu Jinnan pursed his lips then looked at her for a moment before removing his jacket and placing it on the back of a chair in the dining room. He walked towards the tabletop and rolled up his sleeves. “Let me help!”
Lu Jinnan was great at cooking too; it was just that he rarely did it himself.
In the past, Lu Jinnan and Lin Nuan had treated each other with hostility. No one could have imagined that one day they would be preparing dinner together in the kitchen!
Lin Nuan smiled at Lu Jinnan to show her appreciation.
Tuan Tuan came downstairs after changing his clothes. As he leaned against the door of the dining room and revealed his head to peek into the kitchen, he saw that Lin Nuan and Lu Jinnan were both busy inside. Hence, he obediently bounced to the coffee table, took out his art assignment, and began working on it.
The British shorthair that had spent the day exploring outside snuck into the house through the windows in the backyard. The rain made its body slightly wet, and the minute it hit the ground, it ran towards the living room. Seeing Tuan Tuan working on his art assignment, it leaped onto the coffee table and obediently sat down opposite Tuan Tuan, cocking its head sideways as it watched Tuan Tuan cut paper with little scissors.
When the shadow of the cat landed on the white paper, Tuan Tuan looked up. Seeing that the British shorthair was drenched, he called out, “Kitty cat…”
The British shorthair opened its mouth wide and licked its nose as it stared at Tuan Tuan.
Tuan Tuan saw that the fat cat was drenched, so he got up without a word and ran towards the washroom to retrieve a towel. Just like Lin Nuan would wrap him up in a towel when he came out of the shower, Tuan Tuan wrapped the British shorthair with the towel and carried it off the coffee table. He squatted on the carpet and started helping the cat wipe its fur dry.
Tang Zheng had entered after he was done with his phone call. He didn’t notice Tuan Tuan, who was wiping the cat’s fur in the living room, and went directly into the kitchen…
Upon entering, he saw that Lu Jinnan was marinating the fish after it defrosted. As for Lin Nuan, she was bent over with her hands in the sink, washing the vegetables. With a relaxed expression, he announced, “I’ve asked. Old Fu is already on his way back!”
Lin Nuan looked up, a smile appearing on her slim face. “Really?”
“Old Fu has been gone for a day and a night, and he’s perfectly fine. The person I asked to find out about this said it’s not convenient for him to speak in too much detail. Originally, he was vague with his words, but when he suddenly received news that Old Fu was coming back, he quickly told me about it. He said if there’s anything I wish to know about it, I should ask Old Fu myself!”
“Did he say when Huai’an will return?” Lin Nuan couldn’t keep herself from smiling.
“On the way, so it should be soon!” There was an inconcealable delight in Tang Zheng’s eyes too.
Upon hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Tang Zheng looked surprised. He said as he walked out of the kitchen, “Surely he can’t be so fast?”
Once he stepped out of the dining room, Tang Zheng saw You Nainai, who had returned with plastic bags from the convenience store.
You Nainai was surprised to see Tang Zheng too. She had deliberately dragged out her time at the convenience store. Her goal was to return only after Lu Jinnan and Tang Zheng finished talking with Lin Nuan and left. She hadn’t expected to see that Tang Zheng was still around even though she had wasted so much time at the convenience store!
You Nainai was holding a bottle of opened yogurt in her hands. The cap of the yogurt bottle had fallen to the ground earlier, and since it was raining and the bottle cap got dirty, You Nainai didn’t pick it up. She just carried the yogurt back in that opened state, without a cap.
Tang Zheng’s vision swept over the yogurt bottle—it was the same old lychee flavor, You Nainai’s favorite.
Tang Zheng’s Adam’s apple glided up and down as his gaze turned from that lychee-flavored yogurt to the fair face of You Nainai.
Lychee flavor…
You Nainai regretted not throwing away the bottle of yogurt!
Just now, You Nainai had picked it up casually. Seeing Tang Zheng’s reaction when he noticed the yogurt, then his gaze at her, he clearly had the wrong idea.
Having caught sight of Tuan Tuan, who was almost hidden between the sofa and the coffee table, You Nainai changed her shoes and walked towards him with the bag of snacks. “Tuan Tuan, want to drink some yogurt?”
Tuan Tuan raised his head and looked in You Nainai’s direction, but he didn’t reply. You Nainai forcefully placed the yogurt in front of Tuan Tuan. “Auntie dropped the cap to the yogurt bottle by accident just now, so it has no cap. Auntie didn’t drink from it!”
Tuan Tuan gazed at You Nainai with those round eyes of his, then looked behind You Nainai…
You Nainai turned around to look behind her, an incredulous look on her face.
Tuan Tuan didn’t see Little Candy, so he retracted his gaze and looked back at You Nainai, seemingly perplexed as to why You Nainai was in his house without Little Candy.
“Is Nainai back?” Lin Nuan called out from the kitchen.
You Nainai answered, “En, I bought some tidbits.”
“Nainai, Huai’an will be back in a while. Let’s have dinner together…” Lin Nuan said.
From her peripheral vision, You Nainai saw that Tang Zheng had started walking towards the sofa. You Nainai’s hand clutched the plastic bags tightly as she took out the tidbits and placed them on the coffee table for Tuan Tuan. “It’s okay, when Sir Fu returns later, I’ll get going. Little Candy is waiting for me at home.”
When Tuan Tuan heard that You Nainai would be going back later to see Little Candy, Tuan Tuan got up and leaned against the sofa as he reached for his schoolbag. He then retrieved a little flower hairclip and handed it to You Nainai. “Little Candy…”
You Nainai saw that it was her daughter’s little hair clip, so she took it. “Did Little Candy leave this behind in kindergarten?”
Tuan Tuan thought about it, then nodded. He didn’t tell You Nainai that Little Candy had taken off all of her hair clips and left them with Tuan Tuan when she challenged the older kindergarten kids. She accidentally took all but one back from Tuan Tuan later on.
“Thank you, Tuan Tuan!” You Nainai reached out and wanted to stroke Tuan Tuan on his little head, but Tuan Tuan evaded her touch.
You Nainai didn’t mind. She had heard Little Candy say before that Tuan Tuan didn’t like it when others touched his head—not even the kindergarten teachers!
You Nainai gave Tuan Tuan a gentle smile. Seeing that Tang Zheng was about to sit down next to them, You Nainai asked Tuan Tuan, “Where’s your guest bathroom?”
Tuan Tuan pointed with his tiny finger!
“Thank you, Tuan Tuan!” You Nainai got up, not looking at Tang Zheng the entire time. Her long and dense eyelashes hid her expression well as she walked towards the bathroom with her gaze lowered.
Tang Zheng was speechless.
Was he a big tiger for You Nainai to have dodged him these few days like her life depended on it?
They were clearly fine that night. When they were intimate, You Nainai appeared to enjoy it too. So what exactly did he do wrong for You Nainai to hide from him as if hiding from a vicious snake?
Tang Zheng stood anxiously in the living room as he gazed at the bathroom, feeling vexed.
Tuan Tuan looked up at Tang Zheng, who had a lost look in his eyes. Then, after some thought, he picked up the tidbits that You Nainai had given him just now and gave them to Tang Zheng with his hands raised.
Tang Zheng smiled bitterly at Tuan Tuan’s action. “Uncle doesn’t want to eat. Tuan Tuan, you can eat it yourself!”
Seeing that You Nainai didn’t come out of the washroom after a long while, Tang Zheng knew that You Nainai was determined to avoid him. He sighed and entered the kitchen, helping to prepare dinner.
When Tang Zheng entered, there was no need for Lin Nuan to do anything. Therefore, she washed her hands and went out to give Fu Huai’an a call. However, Fu Huai’an’s phone was still turned off.
It had been a day and a night, so Fu Huai’an’s phone might have run out of battery. Lin Nuan consoled herself with the fact that Fu Huai’an would be back soon and that there was no need for her to be anxious.
Sensing someone tugging at her clothes, Lin Nuan lowered her gaze. She saw that Tuan Tuan was looking up at her with a bag of potato chips in his arms. He had one hand raised, wanting to hand a potato chip to Lin Nuan.
Lin Nuan smiled as she bent over to bite the potato chip that Tuan Tuan delivered. She said, “We can start eating dinner when Papa comes back later. Okay?”
Tuan Tuan nodded.
…
Fu Huai’an sat in a car bearing a military logo. Xing Feng personally sent Fu Huai’an back to Tianfu Bay.
Over the one day and one night, even Fu Huai’an’s ex-superiors had come to work because of Fu Huai’an, all in order to get him to cooperate in finding Mr. Du and telling them what happened in the country. However, Fu Huai’an continued to keep his mouth shut tight.
The higher-ups couldn’t do anything with Fu Huai’an then. They could only ask Xing Feng to send Fu Huai’an back and attempt to persuade him on the way, hoping Xing Feng could move him due to their previous comradery.
Since the others didn’t manage to get anything out of him after persuading him for one day and one night, Xing Feng wasn’t planning to waste his breath. Hence, he started talking to Fu Huai’an about Wang Mang’s recent developments…
“I’m not sure if you remember Wang Mang. He’s the shortest guy from my team back in Iraq who’s especially muscular. He’s the guy everyone said looks like a weightlifter…” Xing Feng said.
Fu Huai’an nodded. He never forgot a single one of those comrades who fought alongside him.
“He injured his legs two years ago, and after leaving the troops, he opened his own shop and became a chef. His shop is now popular because of internet influencers. It’s called Wang Mang’s Little Shop. Netizens commented that the boss is very fierce and scolds people! The shop isn’t huge… Wang Mang’s the only one operating it. When Wang Mang sends the food out of the kitchen, customers carry it themselves from the window. The money drawer is placed right under the window. When customers are done eating, they settle the bill themselves or pay by WeChat. Wang Mang is alone in the kitchen and can’t go out, so when it comes to settling the bills, he relies on the customers’ conscience.”
Although he felt a little upset bringing this up, Xing Feng was happy for Wang Mang at the same time. “That little shop helped Wang Mang earn a three-room flat. I also heard that he’s busy going on blind dates these days and is preparing to get married and have kids…”
Fu Huai’an sat in the backseat and closed his eyes to rest, not replying to him.
Fu Huai’an indeed didn’t know about Wang Mang’s recent developments, but Fu Huai’an knew about Wang Mang’s shop.
It wasn’t because Lin Nuan had taken him there before. Fu Huai’an had known about it early on when Wang Mang got injured and retired from the troops.
When that little restaurant first started, business was alarmingly bad.
It was Fu Huai’an who arranged for Little Lu to make arrangements in the dark, helping Wang Mang’s shop get popular…
In this day and age, packaging and operations were what mattered. People didn’t lack money now, and they were used to eating delicacies. What they needed was hype and a sense of novelty.
“Boss, I thank you on behalf of Qin Zhe. If it weren’t for you, Qin Zhe might be dead by now. Or have ended up like Wang Mang—unable to stay on in the troops because help was delayed! And have his future ruined…” Xing Feng’s hands were on the steering wheel. “Wang Mang is considered lucky, seeing as how his restaurant is popular now. Actually, in the real world, there are many veterans like Wang Mang. They used to be heroes, but after suffering an injury, they could only retire from the troops and go home to… live on a meager pension.”
Xing Feng’s voice was a little choked at the mention of this. “Dou Zi used to have such a sunny personality. He had never even dated a girl before. When he went to Myanmar to collect intelligence, he accidentally found out about an international drug-dealing case. Acting from a strong sense of duty, he agreed to help the police and became the police’s informant. In order to obtain intelligence, he tried the drugs himself and ended up becoming addicted. When the case was cracked later, he could only leave the troops with honor. He couldn’t bear being tormented by his drug addiction and jumped off a building. He sacrificed so much, stopped so many drugs from entering the country, and protected so many people. But ultimately, he couldn’t protect himself…”
Fu Huai’an didn’t reply, listening with his eyes closed. His facial features were so calm that it was as if he had no thoughts about this.
“Boss, I really feel… that you’re right not to agree to them! You’re leading a completely different life from before. There’s no need for you to continue…” Xing Feng gritted his teeth. “Sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I look into the mirror and ask myself why I chose this path! And I also ask myself if I should give up, retire from the troops, and do something safer!”
“Then why haven’t you left the troops?” Fu Huai’an, who was leaning against the back seat, asked in a low voice, his eyes still closed.
“In this world, there are some burdens that have to be carried. It’s not that I’m noble or anything, I just feel that, if everyone decided to stop working at this, then who’s going to protect the peace and security we now enjoy? My child has just been born, and I need to keep this peace for him!” Xing Feng smiled.
Right now, in this car, Xing Feng was baring his heart to Fu Huai’an.
Xing Feng dared not speak for others in the troops, but he admitted that he was indeed a selfish person.
“So, Boss, I beg of you, if you run into people like Qin Zhe in the future, if it’s within your means, please try to save them! I know saving a man like that might bring you trouble like today, but… your trouble will save the life of a hero who’s dedicated to preserving the peace and prosperity we have today! Can you do that?”
Very soon, the car stopped before the entrance of Fu Huai’an’s villa.
Fu Huai’an opened his eyes and looked out the window. He saw that in the dining room, Lin Nuan was holding a pair of chopsticks and laying out cutlery on the dining room table.
She wore a black high-collared thin sweater, and her long hair was tied into a low ponytail. Her features looked exquisite and pretty under her airy fringe. She appeared focused as she lowered her beautiful eyes, exuding a comfortable aura that made one feel warm at heart looking at her.
Fu Huai’an gazed at Lin Nuan, who was illuminated by the warm lighting in the room and said, “I too have a family. I also want to protect their peace and security. I don’t want to live through that incident in Venice again…”
Fu Huai’an then pushed open the car door and got out of the car.
Even though Fu Huai’an didn’t seem to have addressed his question directly, Xing Feng understood his answer.
The reason he stayed on in the troops was to protect his child’s peace and security, and Fu Huai’an too wished to do that for his family.
Even though Fu Huai’an did his best to save Qin Zhe this time around, he almost caused his wife and kid to be kidnapped in Venice. Fu Huai’an was only an ordinary person now, so he would have fears too!
Xing Feng sat in the car and watched as Fu Huai’an opened the door. The little one had charged out and was hugging onto Fu Huai’an’s long leg. The fat cat followed Tuan Tuan out and started meowing.
The entire villa started bustling with life. Fu Huai’an’s wife came jogging out, holding a pair of chopsticks in her hand as she leaped into Fu Huai’an’s arms…
Fu Huai’an’s friends had walked to the entryway too, smiling as they welcomed him back.
Xing Feng turned his gaze away from the warmly-lit room. The sight was filled with happiness and warmth, so warm it made one envious.
Xing Feng gripped the steering wheel and released the brake, then drove away.
…
Lin Nuan didn’t linger too long in Fu Huai’an’s arms. Hearing the sounds of Lu Jinnan and Tang Zheng coming out, Lin Nuan hurriedly let go of Fu Huai’an and asked him to enter the house first, her eyes reddened. She closed the door to stop the chilly air from outside from entering the house.
You Nainai saw Fu Huai’an return, so she picked up the coat that she had removed and placed on the back of the sofa, prepared to leave after saying hello to Fu Huai’an.
“How was it? They didn’t make things difficult for you, did they?” Lu Jinnan asked.
“Let Old Fu take a shower and change clothes first. We’ll talk in detail at dinner…” Tang Zheng smiled at Fu Huai’an.
Having seen that Fu Huai’an had returned, everyone felt relieved.
Fu Huai’an set Tuan Tuan down on the ground, then stroked him on his head. He looked up and saw You Nainai, who had walked to the entryway, her coat in her hands.
Although You Nainai and Tang Zheng were standing next to each other, it was as if there was a wall between them…
“Sir Fu, since you’re back, I’ll get going!”
Lin Nuan tried to stop You Nainai, who was leaving. “Leave after dinner! I’ve already prepared your share!”
“I need to go back to accompany Little Candy. I promised I would watch cartoons with her today, and I’m still here now.” You Nainai lied.
Tang Zheng turned his head sideways to gaze at You Nainai’s fair and petite face. He was about to speak up…
“Be careful on the road!” Fu Huai’an walked in from the entryway with Tuan Tuan’s hand in his.
Fu Huai’an gave his permission, so the rest couldn’t very well continue to object to her leaving. You Nainai nodded her head as if she had just received a huge pardon. She turned her body sideways to let Fu Huai’an enter, then smiled at Lin Nuan before walking out the door.
“Tang Zheng, how about you send Nainai?” Lin Nuan spoke up, deliberately trying to create opportunities for Tang Zheng and You Nainai.
Before Tang Zheng could agree, You Nainai rejected the notion. “No need. I drove here myself, and if someone were to send me, I’d need to send that someone back later, so it’s inconvenient for me.”
“I’ll take a cab back myself. You don’t need to send me!” Tang Zheng’s voice was decisive.
“I don’t need you to send me in any case!” You Nainai finally looked at Tang Zheng directly, and fury could be detected in her voice.
Tang Zheng remained frozen to the ground. Seeing You Nainai’s angered manner, he stopped in his tracks and could only watch as she turned around to leave.
“You can’t be too anxious when it comes to You Nainai!” Fu Huai’an turned around, his long and slim fingers unbuttoning his coat. He said, “Rather than trying to get to You Nainai directly, you should start with the kid!”
Fu Huai’an removed his coat and placed it on the sofa, then walked upstairs.
Tang Zheng frowned. After gritting his teeth, he remained silent and didn’t chase You Nainai.
By the time Fu Huai’an took a quick shower and came back downstairs, the dishes were already laid out on the table.
After, Lu Jinnan briefly asked Fu Huai’an about things that happened after he was taken away. Fu Huai’an didn’t talk about it in detail, merely saying that he chatted a little with several of his old acquaintances, then came back.
Lin Nuan didn’t believe that things were as simple as Fu Huai’an put them. However, she didn’t pursue the matter further. After getting a piece of fish meat that had the bones removed, she ate with Tuan Tuan in peace.
Lin Nuan wasn’t anxious. She had plenty of time to ask Fu Huai’an about what had happened over this one day and one night.
After dinner, Fu Huai’an, Lu Jinnan, and Tang Zheng went to the study to talk, while Lin Nuan cleared away the dishes downstairs, with Tuan Tuan helping her carry the plates to the kitchen.