Chapter 196 Sheng An

Xia Qianqian's heart was pounding so hard from those words that it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

She wanted to say "Wait until I'm done washing," and "The water's getting cold," but when Lu Zheng pressed his lips down, all the words stuck in her throat.

His kiss was warm and moist, mixed with the scent of bath soap, domineering yet tender, as if he wanted to meld her whole being into his very bones.

The next second, his calloused hand reached into the mist sprayed from the showerhead.

Xia Qianqian's back tensed instantly, even her fingertips curled into a ball—how could he dare... in a place like this...

"Lu Zheng!" She was both ashamed and anxious, but her whole body was too weak to exert any strength. She could only let him hold her, and twisted her waist in vain like a fish out of water.

The tiles were slippery, and she stumbled, falling even deeper into his arms, which made Lu Zheng chuckle. The vibrations of his chest traveled through their skin, making her skin flush red.

He looked down at her, his eyes swirling with an intense, dark brilliance, yet within that brilliance burned two dazzling lights, like shattered stars: "Qianqian, you're seducing me."

Who seduced whom? Xia Qianqian was almost laughing in anger.

With a hint of embarrassment and annoyance: It was clearly you... it was clearly you who started it first...

With her lips blocked, she could only let out soft whimpers, sounding like a little animal that had been bullied badly.

Lu Zheng ignored her protests: "I've endured this for far too long..."

He suddenly hugged her tightly, splashing water all over the floor. "Today, let's make it work..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xia Qianqian's muffled groan was swallowed by the sound of water, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob: "You... be gentle..."

......

As the morning light shone through the gaps in the curtains and climbed onto Xia Qianqian's eyelashes, Lu Zheng was propping himself up on his arm and watching her.

The lingering warmth of last night seemed to still be soaking in the bedding. Looking at her reddened eyes and slightly swollen lips, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't bear to wake her.

But the person in his arms stirred, their eyelashes fluttering like startled butterfly wings, and they opened their eyes first.

"Xiao Bao must be hungry." Xia Qianqian's voice was hoarse from just waking up, but she wasn't drowsy at all. She propped herself up and tried to sit up.

As a mother, how can I sleep in late?

Last night before going to bed, the two of them specially took the baby out of Peach Blossom Spring and placed him on the inside of the bed.

Normally by this time, the little one would be whining for milk, but today he was unusually quiet.

Xia Qianqian propped herself up and sat up. She saw a tiny, exquisitely beautiful baby lying in swaddling clothes, its round arms raised in the air, and its chubby thumb stuffed in its mouth, making soft "smacking" sounds.

Seeing his mother lean down to look at him, the little guy suddenly stopped sucking, his black grape-like eyes curved into crescents, his toothless little mouth opened to reveal pink gums, and he gave her a sweet smile.

Xia Qianqian laughed. This clever little devil seemed to know that her parents were tired last night.

She held the baby in her arms and unbuttoned her clothes to breastfeed.

The little one had his eyes closed, his little mouth making soft swallowing sounds, and his chubby cheeks puffed up and down with each swallow, making him incredibly cute.

She gently patted the baby's back while looking up at Lu Zheng, her eyes full of tenderness: "You said you wanted to give him a good name, have you thought of one yet? Calling him 'baby' all the time, what kind of talk is that?"

These words gave Lu Zheng a headache. He had indeed thought of many names before, such as "Jianjun" and "Yuanchao," writing down a whole page of names, only to crumple them up himself—he felt that none of the characters were worthy of his son.

Speechless at Xia Qianqian's question, he scratched his head, his ears turning red: "Let me think about it some more... I need a name that sounds good and is also auspicious."

[Hahaha, Brother Lu got stuck!]

[Confirmed to be terrible at naming things! Weren't they so capable before?]

【Please don't call it something like "Defend the Country" or "Protect the Country"! While it might be relevant to this era, it's just too outdated!】

Yes, yes, this is the baby we watched being born, so we have to give him a name that sounds nice and has a good meaning!

The live chat was buzzing with activity. Xia Qianqian suppressed a laugh and gently patted the baby in her arms: "I've thought of something, what do you think?"

Lu Zheng's eyes lit up: "Go ahead!"

“Lu Sheng’an. ‘Sheng’ means bright and prosperous, and ‘An’ means peace and stability for the country. His nickname is An’an. I hope our trip goes smoothly and I also hope that the world will be peaceful and prosperous.”

【!!! This name is absolutely brilliant!】

[Sheng An! Lu Sheng An! It sounds beautiful and has a meaningful connotation!]

[An'an! Her nickname is so cute! Sister-in-law Qianqian is so good at choosing nicknames!]

[This is a hundred times better than the 'nation-building' and 'aiding Korea' ideas that Brother Lu had in mind!]

Lu Zheng stared blankly at his wife and children; the faint sounds of cannons outside the window seemed to have faded into the distance.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he slapped his thigh suddenly: "Let's call him Sheng'an! Lu Sheng'an!"

He carefully reached out and touched his son's soft cheek, his voice hoarse, "A good name is really good."

Xia Qianqian hugged Xiaobao and gently tapped his pert little nose with her fingertip: "Lu Shengan, this will be your formal name from now on."

The little one in her arms seemed to understand, closed his eyes, smacked his lips, and suddenly "poof" spit out a round milk bubble, which sparkled in the morning light and popped on the back of Xia Qianqian's hand with a soft thud.

【!! Xiao An'an has responded!】

[The bubble milk is so cute! This must be a signed endorsement!]

[Help! He seems to know my name is Sheng An!]

Xia Qianqian smiled as she wiped the milk stains off the back of her hand, then looked up at Lu Zheng: "Shouldn't we go to the recruitment office today?"

Lu Zheng was staring at his son blowing bubbles in a daze when he heard this and suddenly came back to his senses: "Yes, this day has finally come."

Xia Qianqian put the fed An'an into the crib, stood on tiptoe and straightened his collar: "I'll take An'an to Peach Blossom Spring to wait for you, be careful in everything."

Lu Zheng pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head: "Wait for my news."

As the jeep rolled over the frosty streets, the closer it got to the city center, the clearer the faint smell of gunpowder became.

A long line had already formed outside the conscription office. Young men in coarse cotton-padded coats carried their bundles, their eyes red with tears, encouraging each other. The slogan on the wall, "Defending the country is everyone's responsibility," fluttered in the wind.

Lu Zheng stopped the car and looked at the young faces in the group. Some were even younger than Peng Fei, with their faces still showing signs of immaturity, but they all stood up straight.

He took a deep breath, opened the car door, and joined the crowd.

"We men have finally reached the point where we can serve our country!"

The rough-looking man at the front of the line pounded his chest with a resounding thud, his gruff voice booming through the north wind, "From today onward, brothers from all corners of the country are sworn brothers who crawled out of the same trench, and we must look after each other on the battlefield!"

"Exactly! When I get to the battlefield, I'll chop those bastards into mincemeat!"

The young man next to him, his eyes red, roared, "Let's see if they dare to set foot on our territory again!"