Chapter 310 Personally Attending
She opened the wardrobe, quickly pulled out several thick winter clothes, folded them neatly, and stuffed them into her suitcase. She also grabbed a few boxes of prenatal vitamins, a thermos, and some common medications, and carefully packed them into her bag.
"Qingqing".
Fu Lian pushed open the door and entered, his steps slightly hesitant.
He immediately noticed his wife packing her luggage quickly and efficiently, as if she had already made up her mind.
His heart sank suddenly, as if soaked in cold water, feeling both cold and heavy.
He asked in a low voice, "Are you really determined to leave?"
Qiao Wanyin slowly stopped what she was doing, turned around and walked towards him.
Her steps were light, yet carried an undeniable firmness.
She walked up to Fu Lian, stopped, and slowly raised her hands to cup his face.
Her palm touched his slightly cool skin. She gazed into his eyes and said in a low but clear voice, "Li An, do you remember our wedding day? What did your uncle say to you on the phone? He even waited for us to answer before saying, word by word, 'A family should share hardships together.' I still remember those words clearly."
She paused, her fingertips tightening slightly, as if trying to etch this memory into his skin. "Now, Uncle is in trouble. We are relatives, family. How can we pretend not to see him when he's going through his most difficult time? How can we stand by and do nothing?"
Fu Li stared at her quietly, his eyes filled with complex emotions, his lips moving slightly, but no sound came out.
His gaze lingered on her face, as if trying to find a trace of wavering in her expression, but all he saw was resoluteness and sincerity.
After a moment, he slowly raised his hand, his movements as gentle as if afraid of disturbing something.
He gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips, from her brow bone to the bridge of her nose, then to her lips, and finally stopped at her chin, giving it a slight lift, as if to confirm her real presence.
"OK."
He finally spoke, his voice hoarse but firm, "I'll go with you."
He paused, looked at her calmly, and said, word by word, "But you must promise me one thing—no matter what happens next, you and the child will always come first. Your safety and the child's well-being are more important than anything else. You must promise that you will not put yourself and the child in danger to save your uncle."
Qiao Wanyin's eyes instantly reddened, as if those words had struck her heart hard.
She bit her lip, fighting back the tears welling up, and nodded firmly, her voice soft but resolute: "I promise you, Li An. I swear, I will protect myself and our child. I will not do anything impulsive."
That night, the lights in the house stayed on, one after another, as if they were reluctant to turn them off.
No one went back to their room to sleep; even the parents, who usually went to bed early, sat in the living room with solemn expressions.
Fu Li'an had already urgently requested leave from the military, and before the formalities were fully completed, he rushed back overnight.
He was sitting on the sofa, his brow furrowed, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knee.
Qiao Wanyin sat on the edge of the bed, her back to the light, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, her mind replaying the same thing over and over again.
She clearly remembered the plot of the original book—Song Heting was arrested and imprisoned because Zheng Mingyuan had secretly set a trap for him.
Evidence was fabricated, witnesses were bribed, and step by step he was driven to his doom.
The problem is, she can't say these things outright right now.
If she suddenly said that "Zheng Mingyuan is the mastermind," Fu Li'an would definitely become suspicious.
She had to find a way to remind him and guide him to investigate, without revealing her secret of "knowing the future."
Just as I was racking my brains trying to figure out how to get in a roundabout way, a loud argument suddenly broke the silence of the night from my parents' room next door.
"Fu Xianxiu! That's my own brother!"
Song Yazhi's voice was choked with sobs, sharp and painful, as if it had finally burst forth after being suppressed for too long. "Back then on the battlefield, if he hadn't taken that bullet for you with his body, you would have been dead long ago! You are alive and back, able to stand here and argue with me, all because he risked his life! Now that he's in trouble, you actually want to hide? How can you face him?"
"Yazhi, listen to me..."
Fu Xianxiu's voice was low and tired, with a hint of helplessness and struggle, "It's not that I don't want to save him. I'm afraid! Li An is still in the army, his future is uncertain. What will the organization think of him if he gets involved in this? And Wan Yin, she's pregnant. If we go, will we drag them into it too? I can't take the risk."
"I don't care about any of that!"
Song Yazhi abruptly interrupted him, her voice trembling, "All I remember is that he's my own brother! When I was little, he carried me to school on his back, and he saved his food rations for me! Now he's been framed and is in jail. You want to hide? Go ahead and hide! I won't stop you! If I don't go, I'm not a daughter of the Song family!"
Her crying grew louder and louder, eventually turning into sobs that came out intermittently.
As Qiao Wanyin listened, she felt as if something was pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
She closed her eyes, sighed softly, then stood up, walked towards her parents' room, and pushed open the door.
The room fell silent instantly.
Song Yazhi hurriedly wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and Fu Xianxiu immediately fell silent, looking up at his daughter with a complicated expression.
"Dad, Mom."
Qiao Wanyin's voice was soft, yet it was like a warm current seeping into the cold air, "Stop arguing. I've already talked to Li An, and we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning. We'll go together as a family."
Fu Xianxiu paused, his gaze slowly shifting to his wife's swollen eyes, then lowered his head and remained silent for a few seconds.
Finally, he let out a long breath, as if a huge burden had been lifted, and said in a hoarse voice, "Alright... let's go together. I can't let him carry this burden alone."
Before dawn the next day, with the morning light still struggling to peek through the gray-white sky, a military green SUV quietly pulled up in front of the door.
The car was still covered in dew, and the engine was running at a low hum, as if it too was holding its breath and waiting.
Qiao Wanyin was standing in the entryway, checking each item of her luggage: medicine, dry food, documents, prenatal music for her baby...
She carefully checked everything, afraid of missing anything.
Her hands were trembling slightly, not from fear, but from nervousness—she knew this trip wouldn't be easy.
Just then, a series of rapid and powerful footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, their thuds on the steps as resonant as drumbeats.
"Reporting to the brigade commander!"
A young, tense voice rang out. It was Fu Li'an's personal orderly, his forehead still damp with sweat. "The regimental headquarters has sent an urgent telegram, ordering you to return to your unit immediately! There is an important mission deployment, and you must be present in person!"
Fu Li'an was helping his father move boxes when he heard this and immediately turned around.
He and his father, Fu Xianxiu, exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity in each other's eyes.
Without asking any further questions, he quickly put on his military jacket, buttoned it up, and said calmly, "I'll go right now."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Wanyin's heart skipped a beat, and she almost instinctively rushed forward, her voice tightening: "I'll go with you."
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