“What happened…?”
Lu Yan sat up somewhat dazedly from Gu Chenyu’s chest.
Watching her leave his arms, Gu Chenyu’s eyes turned slightly cold.
“The phone rang.”
Lu Yan didn’t think much of it. She swiped open the communication function on her star-ring with one hand.
The next second, Duke Lu’s furious voice came through the call, loud enough to make her eardrums ring.
“Lu Yan, where the hell have you gone off to this time? Get your ass back here immediately.”
Lu Yan instantly woke up completely and explained to her father,
“I didn’t go anywhere to fool around. I’m at Gu Chenyu’s frontier residence.”
As expected, Duke Lu paused for a moment when he heard this, then gave a cold snort.
“Who’d believe you? You hate Colonel Gu so much. You expect me to believe you’d rush all the way to the frontier in the middle of the night just to find him?”
Without saying another word, Lu Yan handed the communicator to Gu Chenyu.
“Gu Chenyu, you explain it to Dad yourself!”
Gu Chenyu was slightly taken aback as he accepted the communicator. Looking at Lu Yan, he gave the duke a few brief, calm responses.
“Mm. I understand. Please rest assured, Duke.”
After ending the call, Lu Yan raised an eyebrow and asked irritably,
“Did Dad ask whether I bullied you?”
Gu Chenyu shook his head without saying anything more.
Seeing that he didn’t even dare repeat Duke Lu’s exact words, Lu Yan knew that whatever her father had said couldn’t have been particularly pleasant.
She pouted and gave a soft snort.
“Whatever. Dad probably wants me to stay here with you more than anything right now anyway.”
Gu Chenyu didn’t respond. Instead, he tactfully changed the subject.
“I’ll have them prepare dinner.”
After saying that, Gu Chenyu left the little room.
Only then did Lu Yan belatedly remember that she was still carrying a little cub in her arms.
She lowered her head and looked at the little one lying obediently against her. Thinking he was still asleep, she couldn’t resist lowering her head and pressing her cheek against his forehead.
His temperature seemed to be completely normal now.
Suddenly, she felt several curled eyelashes gently brushing against her cheek.
Lu Yan lifted her head and discovered that the little one’s tightly closed eyelashes were trembling slightly.
He was obviously pretending to be asleep.
Looking at that adorable little face, Lu Yan’s eyes curved slightly. She suppressed her smile and deliberately called out sternly,
“Gu Xinghuai.”
In less than two seconds, Gu Xinghuai immediately opened his round eyes wide.
Seeing Lu Yan looking at him so seriously, he thought Mommy was tired of holding him and was warning him to behave.
Gu Xinghuai pouted.
“Mm…”
Although he was reluctant, he obediently began climbing out of Mommy’s arms.
However, before he could even crawl out of her embrace, Lu Yan scooped the entire little bundle right back into her arms.
“Don’t move.”
Lu Yan hugged the little ball tightly and deliberately frightened him.
“If you leave Mommy and get sick again later, Gu Chenyu will definitely blame me for being lazy and not holding the baby properly!”
Gu Xinghuai froze for a moment before quietly explaining,
“Daddy… wouldn’t…”
Lu Yan naturally knew Gu Chenyu wouldn’t. She gave a little snort and carried the little one downstairs.
When she reached the entrance to the dining room, she saw Gu Chenyu talking to Butler Chen about something.
As she approached, Butler Chen immediately turned toward her and gave a slight bow.
“Madam…”
Lu Yan nodded.
Gu Chenyu also looked over at her. His thin lips moved slightly, as though he was about to say something.
Unfortunately, the military communicator on him suddenly rang at that very moment.
Gu Chenyu raised his hand and glanced at the communicator. Without making any attempt to hide the conversation from her, he answered directly.
“Second Lieutenant Fang, what is it?”
Second Lieutenant Fang?
Alarm bells immediately rang in Lu Yan’s mind.
Was it Fang Chujun, the one who had called Gu Chenyu “Brother Yu” the moment she’d seen him at the base last time?
She didn’t know what the person on the other end said, but Gu Chenyu’s brows drew together more and more tightly.
Before long, he lowered his voice.
“Understood.”
After ending the call, Gu Chenyu looked at Lu Yan.
“There was a sudden explosion at a Level-One defensive installation in the frontier mineral-star belt. The situation is urgent. I need to get there as quickly as possible…”
Lu Yan froze. She hadn’t expected such a serious accident.
She immediately picked up where he left off.
“Then hurry and go!”
But Gu Chenyu looked at the little cub resting against her shoulder, clearly still worried.
Lu Yan immediately understood what he was concerned about.
She couldn’t help glaring at him.
“Do you really think I’m going to bully the child while you’re gone? Besides, everyone in your residence is watching. Even if I wanted to do something, I wouldn’t have the opportunity, would I?”
Gu Chenyu gave her a complicated look before carefully saying,
“The baby is going through his skeletal molting period these two days. I’m worried that if I’m not here and something happens while he’s alone…”
This time, Lu Yan completely understood his roundabout concern.
He was afraid that after spending one night with the child, she would eagerly abandon him and leave the frontier.
Lu Yan could only put on a stern little face and say,
“You haven’t even fulfilled what you promised me yet. I’m not leaving! I’ll stay with the baby these next few days and help him through his molting period. Are you reassured now?”
Having received the promise he wanted, Gu Chenyu’s expression finally softened slightly.
He stepped forward and gently touched the little one’s head.
“Be good and listen to… Lu Yan.”
Gu Xinghuai obediently nodded. His childish little voice still carried a faint hoarseness from his illness.
“Daddy, you have to be careful too.”
Lu Yan unhappily corrected Gu Chenyu.
“It’s Mommy! And you still claim you didn’t teach my baby anything bad?”
The two of them were standing very close.
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but Lu Yan vaguely thought she saw the corner of Gu Chenyu’s normally hard mouth twitch ever so slightly.
Before she could get a better look, however, Gu Chenyu withdrew his hand.
“Mm. I’m leaving, then.”
Lu Yan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching him longingly until the familiar warship finally departed from the residence’s docking area and disappeared into the sky.
Only then did she bring the child back toward the dining room.
Seeing how distracted she seemed, Butler Chen cautiously stepped forward to comfort her.
“Madam, don’t worry. The colonel has handled many similar military emergencies before. He’ll certainly take care of everything as quickly as possible and return safely.”
Lu Yan lowered her eyes, stubbornly denying what she was feeling.
“I’m not worried about him!”
After dinner, while the servants took Gu Xinghuai to bathe, Lu Yan also returned to the master bedroom and took a shower.
What she didn’t notice was that as she turned to leave, Gu Xinghuai, being led away by the servant, silently watched her retreating figure.
He bit his little lip and lowered his pale eyes sadly.
Lu Yan had assumed that once the servants finished bathing the child, they would bring him back to her.
But even after she came out of the bathroom, she still didn’t see him.
After waiting for a while, Lu Yan couldn’t resist opening the door and going out.
As she walked through the corridor, she happened to see Butler Chen coming out of the little room.
Butler Chen was surprised to see her coming over so late.
“Madam, why are you…”
“Where’s Gu Xinghuai?”
Butler Chen froze for a moment before answering,
“The young master just fell asleep.”
Lu Yan leaned against the railing, her expression seemingly indifferent.
“Oh. Then, Butler Chen, you should go get some rest too.”
Butler Chen hesitantly acknowledged her and turned to leave.
Only after Butler Chen’s figure had completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did Lu Yan gently push open the door to the little room.
She tiptoed over to the bed.
Looking at the obedient little cub sleeping soundly on the mattress, she blinked.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she bundled him up together with the blanket and scooped him into her arms.
As if!
She was already feeling terribly insecure right now.
Gu Chenyu wasn’t around, and that was one thing—but she absolutely needed to have the baby beside her in order to sleep peacefully!
However, just as she secretly carried the little baby out of the room and made her way down the corridor, the slight swaying in her arms suddenly woke Gu Xinghuai.
Gu Xinghuai groggily opened his eyes and looked up at Lu Yan, who had bundled him up and was sneaking him away.
In a small, uneasy voice, he called,
“Mommy?”
Lu Yan froze for a second when she heard that soft, sweet little voice.
She decided there was no point sneaking around anymore.
“Gu Xinghuai, don’t you dare struggle and get down!”
She straightened her back, her former villainess swagger returning in full force, and brazenly carried the frail, pitiful little cub all the way back to her own room.