By the time Gu Ciyuan followed the clues to this village, he had once again perfectly missed Su Wantang.
Zhang Fang placed a bowl of chicken soup before him, her face filled with heartache and regret.
She knew that girl held some place in Gu Ciyuan’s heart, but she never expected that place to be so important.
Since Su Wantang disappeared without a trace from the hospital, Gu Ciyuan had been completely shrouded in gloom. This man who was usually as strong as an ox had actually become quite haggard.
It pained her to see him like this.
“Ciyuan, none of us could have predicted things would turn out this way. No matter what, you must take care of your health. You’ve become so thin these past few days – quickly drink this chicken soup to nourish yourself. Only by taking care of yourself first will you have the strength to find her!”
Gu Ciyuan’s gaze swept over Zhang Fang, looking at this relative he had always considered closest to him, then at the golden chicken soup on the table, feeling nothing but desolation.
He had presumptuously assumed that his family would support him as they always had, encouraging him to overcome the current difficulties.
But reality had slapped him in the face.
They loved him, but that didn’t necessarily mean they would genuinely accept the person he loved.
With Su Wantang pregnant and missing without a trace, how could he bring himself to drink this bowl of soup?
When it came to family, he couldn’t bring himself to say harsh words, yet he could no longer be as unreserved as before.
He stood up and walked out.
Until Su Wantang was found, he would never know peace of mind.
Just as Zhang Fang was about to chase after him, the telephone in the living room rang.
She picked up the receiver, and upon hearing what was said, her eyes suddenly lit up.
“Ciyuan, we have news of Wantang!”
…
Police Station
When Gu Ciyuan arrived, he spotted Su Wantang sitting on a chair at first glance.
She was holding a cup of water, her gaze fixed emptily on the cup in her hands, lost in thought.
“Tangtang…”
Gu Ciyuan called out softly.
Su Wantang looked up, a smile appearing on her face the moment she saw him.
“You’re here!”
She didn’t blame him, which only made Gu Ciyuan feel worse.
Su Wantang lightly summarized her experiences of the past few days in just a few sentences, but Gu Ciyuan understood perfectly well that she must have suffered greatly during this time.
Just being captured by human traffickers was surely filled with hardships.
Yet this delicate woman had managed to escape relying on her own strength, while carrying a one-month-old child – this still left Gu Ciyuan somewhat incredulous.
Were the traffickers really that foolish?
How many among those daring enough to traffic humans were actually stupid?
And the child she had saved was apparently from some background, having been picked up by someone before he arrived.
Gu Ciyuan wanted to ask for more details, but Su Wantang tried to change the subject.
After two attempts, he understood and stopped mentioning the matter.
She had just been through a dangerous experience – it was normal that she didn’t want to recall it.
While at the police station, Gu Ciyuan made a phone call.
Jiang Hongqi hurried over, and seeing the woman he had fallen for at first sight following behind Gu Ciyuan like a little wife, he felt a pang of heartache.
He dramatically approached Su Wantang, “Little sister, although your marriage to Old Gu was arranged by the elders, we’re in a new era now – arranged marriages are outdated. Are you really not reconsidering?”
Su Wantang felt somewhat awkward, not quite understanding the situation.
Gu Ciyuan kicked Jiang Hongqi in the backside, “Jiang Hongqi, trying to steal my girl right in front of me? Looking to die?”
Jiang Hongqi rubbed his buttocks, “Just joking, just joking.”
Turning around, he clownishly added, “See? Old Gu has a terrible temper, nowhere near as considerate as your Brother Jiang!”
Gu Ciyuan moved to hit him again, but Jiang Hongqi was prepared this time.
This interruption actually dissipated the previously tense atmosphere, bringing a slight smile to Su Wantang’s lips.
The arranged marriage story was Gu Ciyuan’s public explanation, claiming it had been decided by his late maternal grandmother.
The age gap between him and Su Wantang made this necessary – otherwise there was no reasonable explanation for why he would insist on marrying her.
Jiang Hongqi led them to a Tongzilou building and casually tossed the keys to Gu Ciyuan, “You know which unit. It hasn’t been cleaned, so you’ll have to manage with whatever cleaning you can do yourselves.”
Previously, Gu Ciyuan had lived carefree as a bachelor – though eligible for housing allocation due to his rank, he’d never applied.
Now that he had Su Wantang with him, nowhere else was suitable, so he could only temporarily use the Jiang family’s vacant property.
Coincidentally, Jiang Hongqi’s second brother had been cheated on by his fiancée, causing the wedding to be called off and leaving this place available for Gu Ciyuan’s temporary use.
“Thank Second Brother Jiang for me. I’ll treat you all to dinner when I have time.”
Gu Ciyuan took the keys and brought Su Wantang upstairs.
Second Brother Jiang was a doctor, and most residents in this building were hospital staff and their families.
The apartment had been cleaned not long ago and wasn’t particularly dirty, though aside from a bed, the place was completely empty.
They only needed to stay for a few days anyway, not planning to settle here long-term.
While Su Wantang was curiously examining the two-bedroom apartment, Gu Ciyuan spoke up, “Su Wantang, this is the kind of life you’ll have with me. If we marry, it might get even harder. Are you still willing?”
He usually called her Tangtang, only using her full name during serious moments.
Su Wantang didn’t answer immediately, instead asking, “How hard?”
Gu Ciyuan was equally direct, “I might be forced to leave the military. With my current rank, I could get another job. Supporting you and the child wouldn’t be a problem.”
Though she already knew this, hearing it again still made her feel guilty.
“If you leave the army because of me, will you regret it?”
Gu Ciyuan forced a stiff smile, “Maybe occasionally. But if I protected my career and let you face the consequences alone, my conscience would torment me constantly. I’d never find peace.”
He understood what kind of person he was.
If Su Ye were the one pregnant, he wouldn’t feel the slightest sympathy – he might even do the same as Gu Changsheng.
But this was Su Wantang.
She was different from others.
When he first came to the Su Family, she was only three – a small, soft bundle clinging to his pant leg calling him “brother.”
That had been the darkest period of his life.
His mother had just died, his father had remarried, and those dragon-phoenix twins were only three years younger than him.
When he missed his mother, the little one would throw herself into his arms comforting him, saying his mother was in the sky, the brightest star there – her mother was in heaven too.
Su Wantang had lost her mother at birth, always cared for by her Maternal Grandmother. Back then, her grandmother refused to come to Jingdu for comfort because she couldn’t bear to leave the little one she’d raised for so long.
When Maternal Grandmother passed away, there were two people she worried about most—he was one, and Su Wantang was the other.
To Su Wantang, he might just be an older brother who took care of her in their childhood, but to Gu Ciyuan, Su Wantang was the emotional anchor who helped him endure the most difficult years.
Even if he himself faced misfortune, he had to protect her.
Now that the country was stable, whether he existed or not hardly mattered—but Su Wantang mattered deeply.
If he couldn’t protect her, no matter how great his achievements, he would never find peace in this lifetime.
Gu Ciyuan didn’t own much; everything was kept at Zhang Fang’s house. He also needed to fetch Su Wantang’s spare clothes.
A single small suitcase held it all.
Zhang Fang stood before him, asking, “Ciyuan, where are you going?”