Chapter 111 That Man! Who exactly is he?!

The moment Jiang Wu's gaze met that of the middle-aged man!

A sudden "boom" went through her mind, as if a string had been plucked.

It's not an illusion!

That burning sensation, that aura that made the power of a cultivator in her bloodline tremble, emanated from this man!

It was the scent of a kindred spirit!

Although extremely faint and almost imperceptible, it is completely out of place in this world!

This man, like her, is no ordinary person!

who is he?

Why was he following Deputy Commander Lu?

Is he friend or foe?

Countless thoughts exploded in Jiang Wu's mind, her heart skipped a beat for a moment, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on her daughter.

The man seemed to have noticed something as well. His gaze lingered on Jiang Wu's face, and a barely perceptible look of surprise flashed in his seemingly ordinary eyes.

But he quickly averted his gaze, lowered his head, resumed his inconspicuous demeanor, and hurried to catch up with Deputy Commander Lu, disappearing around the corner of the crowd.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The moment the man disappeared, the burning sensation on Jiang Wu's jade bracelet also subsided, as if everything just now was merely an illusion.

"Wife, what's wrong?"

Qin Lie's voice rang in her ears, pulling her back to reality from her shock.

He noticed Jiang Wu's stiffness and the sudden change in her expression.

"fine."

Jiang Wu quickly suppressed all her emotions, shook her head at her husband, and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'm probably a little tired from standing for so long."

She didn't want Qin Lie to worry, and she certainly didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble in this situation.

The man's appearance was like a boulder thrown into the calm heart of her lake.

She hid herself very well in this world, always believing that she was the only outcast.

But now it seems that's not the case.

This capital city, and the core circle of the Qin family, is far more complex than she imagined.

Holding her daughter, Jiang Wu glanced discreetly at her father-in-law, Qin Weijun, in the distance. He was chatting and laughing with several generals of the same rank, completely unaware of anything amiss.

It seems that she has to rely on herself to handle this matter.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Three years is enough time for many things to change.

With his outstanding abilities and excellent command in several military exercises, Qin Lie firmly held his position as deputy division commander and was promoted to senior colonel, becoming the most dazzling new star in the Capital Military Region.

The mysterious man who made a fleeting appearance on Army Day never reappeared.

The Lu family seemed to have vanished without a trace. Apart from Lu Yao occasionally appearing at some social events, looking at Jiang Wu from afar with resentful eyes, they never stirred up any more trouble.

It was as if all the undercurrents had temporarily subsided beneath the calm surface.

The biggest change in the Qin family came from the two little ones.

Three-year-old Qin Zhan and Qin Zhao are old enough to go to kindergarten.

This was the first day the two little ones reported to the military headquarters' kindergarten.

Jiang Wu dressed the two children up to look exceptionally smart.

Her son, Qin Zhan, was wearing a white shirt and khaki overalls that she had made herself, with white sneakers on his feet. His hair was neatly combed, and his little face was tense, like a serious little adult.

The daughter, Qin Zhao, wore a beautiful pale yellow princess dress, adorned with delicate lace trim on the hem, and a matching bow in her hair. She was exquisitely beautiful, always smiling, with her eyes curving into two adorable crescent moons.

The two little ones immediately became the center of attention as soon as they appeared at the kindergarten gate.

"My God! Look! Aren't those Deputy Division Commander Qin's twins?"

"She's so beautiful! She looks like she stepped out of a painting!"

"With a beautiful mother and a handsome father, how could their child not be good-looking?"

Parents who brought their children to school couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

The kindergarten teachers were all smiles, vying to come up and hold the hands of the two little ones.

"Little friend, what's your name?" A young teacher surnamed Zhang squatted down and asked Qin Zhan softly.

Qin Zhan did not answer immediately. He first bowed politely to the teacher, and then said in clear speech, "Hello, teacher, my name is Qin Zhan."

His mature demeanor made Teacher Zhang laugh.

"Qin Zhan is such a polite child!"

She then turned to Qin Zhao: "And what about this beautiful little princess?"

Qin Zhao answered in a childish voice, "My name is Qin Zhao! Zhao as in 'shining'!"

She even stretched out her little hand and pointed to the sun in the sky.

This adorable gesture instantly melted the hearts of everyone present.

In the midst of this harmonious and pleasant atmosphere, a discordant voice rang out.

"What's so great about her? She's just a little better looking."

The speaker was a middle-aged woman wearing a polyester shirt and dressed in a somewhat harsh manner.

She was holding the hand of a chubby little boy, looking at Jiang Wu and the children surrounded by the crowd, her lips pursed, her eyes full of sour jealousy.

“Teacher Wang,” she pulled over an older teacher, pointed to her son, and said in a boastful tone, “My little treasure knows five hundred Chinese characters! He can recite more than twenty Tang poems! That’s real talent!”

Teacher Wang offered a perfunctory compliment, but her eyes couldn't help but dart towards Qin Zhan and Qin Zhao.

The middle-aged woman became even more displeased. She loudly said to her son, "Xiaobao, go and say hello to those two kids, let them see what you're capable of!"

The chubby boy named Xiaobao, encouraged by his mother, immediately puffed out his little chest and walked arrogantly in front of Qin Zhan and Qin Zhao.

"Hey! Can you guys recite poems?" The chubby boy gestured with his chin toward Qin Zhan.

Qin Zhan glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Qin Zhao, however, tilted his head curiously and said, "Yes, I can."

"Can you recite 'Ode to the Goose'?"

Yes, I will.

"Then... then can you recite 'Quiet Night Thoughts'?" The chubby boy recited the few poems he knew.

Qin Zhao nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes."

The chubby boy was at a loss, so he turned to look at his mother.

The middle-aged woman immediately gave him advice: "Ask him if he can read!"

Upon receiving the instruction, the chubby boy immediately became smug again. He casually tore a notice off the bulletin board next to him, pointed to the large characters on it, and asked defiantly, "Then do you recognize this character?"

The surrounding parents and teachers watched with great interest, eager to see how this "competition" between the children would end.

The first character on the notice is “通”, and the traditional Chinese character for “通” has quite a complex number of strokes.

Let alone a three-year-old child, even many adults would have to pause for a moment when they first see it.

"Don't recognize it anymore?" the chubby boy smugly snorted. "Let me tell you, this character is pronounced..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Qin Zhan, who had been silent all along, suddenly pointed to the word with his little finger and uttered it clearly in a calm tone.

"Pass."

The sound wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the entire room.

The smugness on the faces of the chubby boy and his mother instantly froze.

"No...impossible!" the middle-aged woman shrieked. "He's only three years old! How could he possibly know such difficult characters! You must have taught him beforehand! He's just guessing!"

As soon as she said that, the people around her looked at her with disdain.

It's one thing to be a sore loser, but to question someone else's child shows a really narrow-minded attitude.

Jiang Wu simply smiled and remained silent.

She knelt down and patted her son's head.

But Qin Zhan did something that no one expected.

He ignored the woman's shouting and instead strode over to the bookshelf next to him.

On the bookshelf was a copy of the Xinhua Dictionary for teachers.

Qin Zhan tiptoed and, with some effort, pulled out the thick dictionary and held it in his arms.

He opened the dictionary, his little fingers sliding quickly across it.

He stopped very quickly.

He spread out the dictionary and held it up in front of the middle-aged woman.

“Auntie,” Qin Zhan, still with that grown-up expression, pointed to the dictionary definition of the character “通” and read it out slowly and deliberately:

“通 (tōng) means to arrive smoothly without hindrance.” Examples of related words: 通过 (tōngguò), 交通 (jiāotōng), 神通 (shéntōng)…

The entire kindergarten fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the little boy, who was less than half the height of a dictionary.

The middle-aged woman's face flushed red and then turned pale, her mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

Her proud "genius son" seemed like an illiterate man in front of Qin Zhan.

That was a really loud slap in the face!