The station they had just stopped at was a major station, and quite a few people got off there. The number of passengers in the sleeper carriage decreased considerably.
The train clattered along as Lu Mingzhu and Lu Siyuan tightly held onto Su Yuanyuan’s arm, sitting on the sleeper berth and nervously watching their surroundings.
“Mom, did that trafficker really get arrested?” Lu Siyuan was still a little frightened.
Lu Mingzhu buried her head in Su Yuanyuan’s arms. “There was so much noise even from so far away. We could hear everything from this carriage. It sounded like someone even got hurt. Why are they so bad?”
The children were still too young to truly understand what human traffickers were. They only knew that the commotion just now had been frightening.
“Because they’re bad people who steal children. Their job is to abduct and steal other people’s children or family members. People like that are very dangerous, so if you ever meet someone strange, you must stay far away from them.”
Su Yuanyuan felt that it was time to explain the seriousness of human trafficking to them. She took this opportunity to teach the two children about it.
The children hadn’t expected human traffickers to be so terrifying. They listened in stunned silence, and when they heard that some traffickers would even break children’s arms and legs and force them to beg, the two little ones turned pale with fright.
“Then how did Mom know those two people were traffickers?” the two children asked in unison.
“Because there was so much noise in the carriage just now, and it was very loud, but the child they were holding didn’t wake up at all. That meant something wasn’t right. This is the second thing Mommy wants to teach you—you need to learn how to observe the details around you.”
Su Yuanyuan pinched their cheeks. This was still a little difficult for children their age to understand, but they would eventually come to understand it.
The two little ones nodded as though they understood, then looked at Su Yuanyuan with identical sparkling eyes.
“Then Mommy is really amazing!”
This trip away from home had made Lu Siyuan and Lu Mingzhu realize that their mother wasn’t actually as foolish as they had thought.
In the past, their mother had only known how to cry, making people feel sorry for her.
“So that really handsome soldier uncle helped catch the traffickers?”
Lu Siyuan really liked that soldier uncle. He couldn’t explain why; he simply liked him very much.
“Mm, that’s right.” Su Yuanyuan remembered how the man had agreed without hesitation when she asked him for help, and a smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
“The soldier uncle is so handsome. Mom, is our dad also that handsome?”
There was a faint excitement and anticipation in Lu Siyuan’s voice. Everyone said that soldiers were good people, so his dad must be a good person too. He couldn’t wait to meet his father.
Lu Mingzhu also looked at Su Yuanyuan, blinking her watery eyes. She looked even more like her mother.
A trace of embarrassment flashed through Su Yuanyuan’s eyes.
She genuinely had no idea. She had never actually met Lu Zheng’an.
However, in the original novel, Lu Zheng’an was the male lead. The author described him as having deep-set features, a high straight nose, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with a tall and extremely robust physique.
In short, he was a handsome, textbook-type heartthrob.
The soldier she’d just met had also been very upright and handsome. Su Yuanyuan felt that the male lead, Lu Zheng’an, was probably the same type of handsome man.
In front of the children, Su Yuanyuan couldn’t very well reveal that she knew practically nothing about her own husband. After thinking for a moment, she began seriously coaxing the children.
“Your dad is a very good person. He’s gentle and considerate, and he’s an upright soldier.”
Su Yuanyuan didn’t think she was actually lying to the children, because that was exactly what the male lead was like in the original novel.
“Is Dad handsome?”
Su Yuanyuan didn’t understand why the children were so fixated on whether Lu Zheng’an was handsome. She smiled and rubbed their heads.
“Handsome. Super handsome. Your dad is absolutely the handsomest man in the world.”
He was, after all, the male lead of the original novel. There was absolutely no question about his looks.
The children’s eyes lit up, and they became even more curious about what their father looked like.
There was no photograph of their father at home. From the time they were born until now, they had never even seen him.
As though they had a shared understanding, the two children lowered their heads and fell silent.
Su Yuanyuan raised an eyebrow.
“Why aren’t you happy just because Dad is handsome?”
Lu Mingzhu tightened her grip on Su Yuanyuan’s sleeve and timidly raised her head from her mother’s arms.
“Mom, what if Dad doesn’t like me and Brother?”
Lu Siyuan pursed his lips. Although he didn’t say anything, it was obvious that he was thinking the same thing.
Su Yuanyuan froze. She hadn’t expected them to ask that.
“Why would you think that?” Su Yuanyuan laughed. “Your dad has been busy these past few years, which is why he hasn’t come home to see you. Besides, your grandparents hid the fact that you were born from him. Your dad doesn’t know about you. Once he finds out he has children, he’ll definitely be happy.”
Su Yuanyuan spoke with absolute certainty.
If Lu Zheng’an had known about the existence of the two children, he wouldn’t have stayed away for three whole years.
Su Yuanyuan wasn’t quite sure what Lu Zheng’an felt toward the original Su Yuanyuan as his wife. After all, in the original novel, Su Yuanyuan’s life had been described rather briefly, without much detail.
His feelings for the original owner probably weren’t very deep. Responsibility accounted for most of it. It was certainly true that his missions had been particularly demanding these past few years, but if he’d had romantic feelings for her, he probably would have returned to see her at least once.
However, he knew perfectly well that the original owner was in poor health. When he couldn’t come home, he sent money to the family every month. When Old Lu and Li Hua wrote to tell him that the original owner wasn’t well, the male lead immediately sent money home and told them to buy supplements for her.
In short, he was a good man. He simply didn’t love the original owner romantically.
In Su Yuanyuan’s description, Lu Zheng’an was wonderful in every way, and the two children finally relaxed a little.
There was still a long journey ahead. The two little ones grew sleepy and soon fell asleep beside Su Yuanyuan.
Meanwhile.
Lu Zheng’an had just accompanied the police officer back to the Public Security Bureau to give his statement.
He had already changed back into his military uniform. The well-fitted uniform accentuated his excellent proportions—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and a slender waist. He was particularly eye-catching.
His statement was almost finished. Lu Zheng’an looked up at the time.
There should still be enough time. If he caught the latest train back to Jingbei, he would make it.
It was already evening. The Public Security Bureau was right next to the railway station, so he could simply walk back.
As a soldier who had acted bravely to help others on the train, Lu Zheng’an’s identity had already been reported to his unit by the people at the Public Security Bureau. They even planned to send his unit a commendation banner afterward.
Once his statement was finished, there was nothing else for Lu Zheng’an to do. After saying goodbye to the people at the Public Security Bureau, he planned to leave and catch his train.
He had barely stepped out of the lobby when a communications officer ran out and hurriedly called after him.
“Comrade Lu! The unit asked you to call back once you’ve finished giving your statement.”
Lu Zheng’an had just completed a mission that day and was taking the train back to Jingbei. Under normal circumstances, his unit wouldn’t have urgently contacted him.
His expression remained unchanged as he nodded.
“Understood.”
The Public Security Bureau’s telephones were dedicated lines. Lu Zheng’an didn’t borrow their phone. Instead, he walked to the public telephone booth outside and called his unit.
The call connected, and Lu Zheng’an immediately spoke.
“Reporting to headquarters. This is Lu Zheng’an. May I ask what instructions you have?”
“Comrade Lu, there’s an urgent mission. It’s inconvenient to explain the details over the phone. You need to return to Jingbei immediately. Someone will brief you on the specifics when you arrive. Buy the earliest available train ticket and return at once.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lu Zheng’an hung up and frowned slightly.
He suddenly remembered the woman he’d seen on the train, the one traveling with two children.
She had looked very thin and seemed to be in poor health, which inexplicably reminded Lu Zheng’an of his wife, whom he hadn’t seen for three years.
Not long after he and Su Yuanyuan got married, he had been urgently recalled to his unit. After that, he had never seen Su Yuanyuan again.
She couldn’t read or write, so the two of them had never exchanged letters.
After three years apart, he could barely remember what she looked like anymore.
He wondered how she was doing.