“Alright, when Tuantuan grows up, he can be a soldier too.”
As Zhou Yushen spoke, he shifted the things he was carrying into one hand, then used the other to pick Tuantuan up and lift him high.
Tuantuan happily wrapped his arms around his neck, his little round face flushed with excitement.
Yuanyuan immediately followed and called out, “Yuanyuan wants to be a soldier too, with uncle!”
Lu Wanwan could tell that both children really liked Zhou Yushen. A trace of worry flashed in her eyes—she would have to find time to remind them to be more mindful of their behavior once they arrived at the Zhou family.
Even though Lu Wanwan had mentally prepared herself, when they arrived at the Zhou residence, she had just gotten out of the car when Chen Shu, who had been waiting outside, grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.
“Hurry, Comrade Lu! Xiaobao has been crying from hunger for a long time—go feed him!”
In a rush, Lu Wanwan glanced back at her two children, only having time to tell them, “Mommy will come back soon. Be good and wait for me here.”
Tuantuan and Yuanyuan stood at the entrance of the beautiful house, feeling at a loss. They didn’t dare step inside, afraid of breaking or dirtying something and causing trouble for their mother.
Aunt Zhang came over to help carry the luggage to the room. Seeing the adorable twins, she smiled and greeted them, “You must be Tuantuan and Yuanyuan. Your mom will be back soon—come rest with me first, alright?”
The two shook their heads in unison. “Mom told us to wait here.”
“Well…”
Aunt Zhang hesitated. She still had work in the kitchen and couldn’t stay with them.
Zhou Yushen got out of the car carrying the bags. Seeing this, he had intended to return to his room, but instead changed direction and walked toward the children.
“Let uncle take you to a room to wait for your mom, alright?”
Tuantuan and Yuanyuan nodded obediently. “Thank you, uncle.”
Aunt Zhang was a bit surprised. In all her years working for the Zhou family, this was the first time she had seen Zhou Yushen interact with children—and they liked him so much.
“Then I’ll trouble you, Commander Zhou. You’re so good with children—you’ll definitely be a great father in the future.”
A good father?
The words Lu Wanwan had once said flashed through Zhou Yushen’s mind, and something in his chest tightened slightly. Ever since experiencing life-and-death situations in the military, he had never thought about getting married.
“That’s for the future.”
He brushed it off casually, bent down, and picked up Tuantuan and Yuanyuan—one in each arm—then carried them to a room.
Feeling the two little bundles in his arms, a thought suddenly crossed his mind: it wouldn’t be bad if he had children like Tuantuan and Yuanyuan.
After feeding Xiaobao, Lu Wanwan coaxed him to sleep and carefully placed him in the crib.
Chen Shu had been watching her the whole time, nodding in satisfaction. Seeing her son finally full and asleep, she sighed in relief and said softly to Lu Wanwan:
“You’ve worked hard. I asked Aunt Zhang to cook brown sugar eggs for you. Go eat first, then get some rest.”
“Alright, thank you, Comrade Chen.”
Lu Wanwan went to find her children first. Just then, Aunt Zhang brought out the prepared brown sugar eggs and called to her:
“Wanwan, Commander Zhou already took the children to a room. Eat first, then go rest with them.”
“Alright, thank you, Aunt Zhang.”
She was truly grateful—she wouldn’t have gotten this job without her.
As she sat down to eat, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Aunt Zhang had to give up chatting and quickly wiped her hands to answer the door.
When she opened it and saw the young woman outside, she greeted her warmly, “Comrade Fang, you’re here.”
Fang Anqian gave a brief “mm” and walked in with a hint of arrogance, carrying a cake box. She had woken up early to make it after hearing Zhou Yushen had returned.
She had liked Zhou Yushen for years but had never managed to win his heart.
To increase her chances, she had even become friends with Chen Shu and learned that the Zhou family had recently been looking for a suitable match for him.
But Fang Anqian was very confident—she was beautiful and had recently been promoted to an instructor in the cultural troupe, which boosted her confidence even more.
When she saw the young, beautiful woman sitting at the dining table, her expression changed instantly.
Was she too late?
When rivals meet, tension sparks.
Fang Anqian scrutinized Lu Wanwan from head to toe—bright eyes, delicate features, graceful figure.
Could this be Zhou Yushen’s blind date?
Many women liked him, but none had ever made Fang Anqian feel threatened—until now. The woman in front of her gave her a strong sense of crisis, making her feel like a hedgehog with its quills raised.
She strode over, set the cake box on the table, and questioned arrogantly:
“Who are you? Why are you eating in Brother Shen’s house?”
Before Lu Wanwan could explain, Zhou Yushen’s voice sounded first.
“She’s eating in my house—does that affect Comrade Fang?”
He walked over leisurely, coat draped over his arm, his tall figure carrying an imposing presence.
Fang Anqian’s heart raced as she gazed at him, slightly dazed—he was even more attractive than the last time she saw him.
Blushing, she explained shyly, “Brother Shen, I was just curious. I made your favorite cake with chocolate—try it and see how it tastes.”
“I’m not hungry. You and my sister-in-law can have it.”
Zhou Yushen remained indifferent to her flattery and deliberate closeness. When she tried to approach, he subtly stepped aside.
He had reminded her before not to call him “Brother Shen”—they weren’t close. But she kept doing it, even using his sister-in-law as an excuse. Not wanting to make things difficult for Chen Shu, he chose to simply ignore her.
His obvious distance made Fang Anqian both angry and hurt. She blamed it all on the woman still eating.
Eat, eat, eat—was she a pig?
Lu Wanwan felt the hostility in Fang Anqian’s gaze but ignored it. In the Zhou household, her only job was to feed Xiaobao and take care of him. The rest of the family’s affairs had nothing to do with her.
But Fang Anqian clearly had no intention of letting her go. She wanted Zhou Yushen to see that she was the most suitable woman for him.
Switching tactics, she walked over and tried to strike up a conversation:
“Hello, comrade. My name is Fang Anqian. I’m an instructor in the cultural troupe. Did you come alone?”
Usually, for blind dates, people came with matchmakers or parents—but she hadn’t seen anyone else.
Lu Wanwan swallowed the egg and answered without much thought:
“I came with my two children.”
“Two children… You’re married and have kids? Where’s your husband? Does he know you’re here?”
Fang Anqian’s questions struck Lu Wanwan as strange. She didn’t think there was anything she couldn’t say, but she found it odd that people kept asking about this.
She gave the same answer as before.
“He’s dead.”