From that day on, the baby would frequently stretch and move its arms and legs inside Ling Ruoke's belly, full of energy. Ling Ruoke thought to herself that she was probably really having a boy, just as she wished. If the colonel knew it was a boy, he would definitely start yelling again.
Thinking of this, Ling Ruoke couldn't help but cover her lips and smile foolishly. The baby seemed to sense her good mood, kicking her belly hard, leaving little bumps. She could almost hear his innocent laughter, responding to his mother's joy.
Observing her child's movements every day became the most important thing for Ling Ruoke. The child was very mischievous, and seemed to be aware of his own actions. Wherever she placed her hand, he would stretch out his arms and legs in the same direction, the bulges appearing and disappearing, which was especially amusing. Ling Ruoke treated it all as a game, playing with her child every day. Sometimes she would even talk to him, though she wasn't sure if he understood.
About a week later, Huo Qingfeng returned from his mission. The mission went smoothly this time, and no comrades were injured, so he was in a good mood. After washing off the stench, he rushed home.
It was a little past three in the afternoon, and Ling Ruoke had just woken up. She was getting hungry quickly, so she was eating fruit and watching an entertainment program. Suddenly, the colonel climbed in through the window, but luckily she was used to it and wasn't frightened.
"Wife, did you miss me?" Huo Qingfeng embraced his wife and gave her a deep kiss.
Ling Ruoke, breathless from his kisses, leaned softly against him, her misty eyes gazing at him with a deep smile. She raised her hand to touch his stubble-covered face; it was prickly from days without shaving. She tilted her head back and bit him, leaving a clear tooth mark. "Like a wild man!"
Huo Qingfeng lowered his head and pecked at her red lips, stubbornly asking, "Have you missed me?" His low, husky voice was sexy and alluring.
"Yes!" Ling Ruoke admitted loudly. She no longer felt ashamed of admitting her feelings, so she always responded to him directly.
Ling Ruoke reached out to pinch his waist, but it was too firm to pinch. She could only glare at him shyly and slightly distance herself from him. Just as she was about to say something, she cried out in surprise.
Huo Qingfeng shuddered, his eyes widening as if he'd been utterly shocked, staring intently at Ruo Ke. After a moment, he slowly lowered his head, fixing his gaze on her abdomen, still unblinking. "Wife..."
His voice was trembling, showing how agitated he was. Even when he was emotional, it wasn't usually this obvious.
Ling Ruoke's lips curled into a smile as she looked at him. She had been eagerly anticipating his performance these past few days, and now she had finally witnessed it. "What's wrong?" Was it a bit malicious of her to feign madness just to see his amusing reaction?
Huo Qingfeng's eyes were fixed on her, his finger pointing at her protruding belly, his voice still trembling as he asked, "Did he... move just now?"
"Yeah, he just kicked me." Ling Ruoke laughed heartily, feeling her joy deepen because of his reaction.
"He kicked you?" Huo Qingfeng's voice rose again. Before she could answer, he quickly stepped back a little, then hurriedly placed his hand on her abdomen. Since she couldn't feel him moving, his large hand moved back and forth, as if searching for a moving spot. "Wife, why isn't he moving?"
Ling Ruoke chuckled. "I don't know either. Maybe he thought you were too slow to react and went to sleep in a huff. Or maybe you're often not home and he doesn't remember you, so he's scared and hiding." Usually, when she's home alone and trying to amuse him, he's very enthusiastic.
"What should we do?" Huo Qingfeng's hand was still moving and exploring on her belly, but the baby just wouldn't move. He could only pitifully raise his head and ask his wife for help.
Ling Ruoke smiled brightly and winked playfully. "I don't know what to do either. Why don't you talk to him and beg him?" She was joking.
Unexpectedly, he took it seriously, bent his left leg and knelt on one knee, pressing his face against her abdomen.
Ling Ruoke exclaimed in surprise and reached out to pull him up. "Silly boy, I was just joking, get up quickly."
Huo Qingfeng smiled slightly. "Honey, it's alright. I also wanted to say hello to our child; she can't keep ignoring her father, can she?"
Ling Ruoke said nothing. She understood that he also wanted to enjoy the moment when the baby moved in the womb. This silly father's love for the child was no less than hers.
Looking through the window, one could clearly see a heavily pregnant woman standing there. A man, half-kneeling, had one arm around her waist, his face pressed against her protruding belly, while his other hand moved back and forth on her stomach as if exploring something. It was a heartwarming scene, making one want to laugh, and then, with laughter tinged with tears.
“Baby, I’m your dad. Come on, say hello to your dad, okay…” Huo Qingfeng began to coax the child into giving him a kick.
Ling Ruoke looked down at him, her eyes filled with hot tears. She bit her lip tightly, trying not to make a sound. She had seen this scene on television before, and it had warmed her heart then. Now that she was the protagonist of the scene, she felt even more moved.
This is the wonder of life; it can always bring us unimaginable感动 (moving experiences) in the most ordinary moments.
"Honey, he's ignoring me!" Huo Qingfeng tried for a long time but got no response, so he looked up at his wife and complained, looking aggrieved. His expression was silly, without a trace of his usual shrewdness and competence.
Ling Ruoke couldn't help but chuckle again, reaching out to pull him up. "Get up first. He's probably really asleep, he's not ignoring you."
Huo Qingfeng frowned, thought for a while, and said very seriously, "Honey, I think he might really be a son, so he didn't get along with his father even in the womb. Don't people say that sons are born to steal women from their fathers? This is terrible, we've lost big time!"
Ling Ruoke couldn't help but laugh and gently patted his face. "You actually believed that nonsense they were spouting? And you're supposed to be a special forces colonel. But it's a deal, if it really is a son, you're not allowed to bully him."
Huo Qingfeng felt even more aggrieved, almost glaring at her with teary eyes. "Wife, you're already showing favoritism."
Ling Ruoke just smiled. Her hand landed on her abdomen, and after only a couple of movements, a mischievous bump appeared in her palm.
Huo Qingfeng naturally saw it and shouted, "Wife, let me touch it!" He pulled her hand away and placed his large palm on top of hers. But the child seemed to be defying him and wouldn't move.
Huo Qingfeng felt extremely wronged and looked up at Ruo Ke pitifully. "Wife..." he thought to himself, secretly resolving to give the baby a good spanking once it was born!
Ling Ruoke smiled and took his hand, placing it on her stomach. "Baby, this is Daddy. You can't be naughty anymore. Say hello to Daddy, baby, be good..."
She patiently pulled his hand and slowly moved him around. Before long, she kicked him hard in the palm of his hand.
When Ling Ruoke looked up, she saw her husband's silly expression, his jaw dropping and eyes wide. She smiled, thinking to herself, "If only I could capture these moments on camera." She let go of his hand, letting him explore on his own.
The child may have taken his mother's words to heart, or perhaps he was moved by his father's sincerity, and finally agreed to play the arm-stretching game with his father.
Huo Qingfeng, like a child who had received a new toy, stared at the bulge that had formed in his palm, thoroughly enjoying himself. He grinned, showing off his white teeth, looking utterly foolish. If the soldiers saw him like this, it was uncertain whether they would still trust and respect him.
"Alright." Ling Ruoke grabbed his large hand, stopping him from playing any longer. "He's still young and needs to rest; he can't play for too long."
Huo Qingfeng then reluctantly stroked her belly and said, "Baby, go to sleep now. Daddy will play with you again next time." He reluctantly withdrew his hand and put his arms around Ruoke's waist.
Ling Ruoke slightly raised her head, her forehead touching his.
"Wife," Huo Qingfeng called her in a hoarse voice. The moment the child kicked him, he almost couldn't hold back his tears. The feeling was so subtle; even though his language skills were good, he couldn't find the right words to describe it. It seemed only the most natural human reaction could express that delicate feeling.
"Hmm?" Ling Ruoke smiled faintly, looking into his even deeper eyes. They shimmered within, as if one could see the turbulent lake of his heart reflected there. He was the most outstanding special forces soldier, but now he was just a silly, expectant father.
Huo Qingfeng nuzzled her forehead and said, "I feel so happy I could burst, what should I do?"
Ling Ruoke giggled and tiptoed to kiss his lips. She felt the same way, and just as she did, she didn't know how to express it; her heart seemed to be overflowing.
Outside the window, the winter sun shines brightly, painting the world with a beautiful rosy glow. While it cannot completely dispel the winter chill, it gives one more confidence to look forward to the arrival of spring.
After Huo Qingfeng had eaten and drunk his fill, it was already dark outside the window. His wife, whom he held in his arms, had long since fallen asleep from exhaustion. He quickly grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off her body, then wrapped her tightly in a warm blanket, leaving only her pretty face exposed.
He placed his hand on her face, and she gently rubbed it against his palm before falling into a deep sleep. Her peaceful face brought a sense of tranquility to his heart.
At this moment, Huo Qingfeng recalled a line from the movie "The Trojan War" by Achilles: "In my life of war, you gave me the final peace."
Being a special forces soldier is sometimes no different from being Achilles, the god of war; both involve killing, both have hands stained with blood. Even if a special forces soldier kills bad guys, life is life, and blood is blood; there's no inherent good or bad. This is why some people, after undergoing all the brutal training, are utterly devastated after their first mission to kill. The feeling of watching lives disappear in your own hands is terrifying; without a sufficiently strong will and unwavering faith, it's simply impossible to face it.
Huo Qingfeng became Gao E's "most outstanding special forces soldier" because of his iron will and unwavering faith. Every mission involved killing, and in the process, he risked being killed himself; making the right choices required immense composure and calmness. To put it bluntly, perhaps it was cold-blooded.
Some people need a long time to readjust after returning from a mission. But others can take a shower and be back on the training field fighting alongside their brothers in less than half an hour. Huo Qingfeng belongs to the latter.
Sometimes, when he was acting as a sniper on missions, he would often hear his adversaries calling him cold-blooded. Huo Qingfeng sometimes doubted whether he was truly heartless. But Ruo Ke's appearance gave him the most compelling proof: he wasn't heartless. No matter how much blood was stained his hands, it was all for the people he loved, and to protect countless ordinary, kind-hearted people!
Ruoke always told him that meeting him was her good fortune. Huo Qingfeng thought that she probably didn't know that meeting her was also a kind of salvation for him. After engaging in murder for so long, whether it was for justice or evil, his heart actually needed a peaceful space to purify the sin of killing. Unless one is a psychopath, no one really thinks that killing is a fun thing. And Ruoke was such a clear spring for him, allowing him to wash away all the filth in it.
His dependence on Ruoke far exceeded Ruoke's dependence on him. Ruoke was unaware of this, and he wouldn't tell her. Not for pride, but simply because he was unwilling to explain, unwilling to mention the heinous crime of that killing to her.
Huo Qingfeng bent down slightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Thank you, my love.
The sleeping beauty's lips curved slightly, a faint smile enough to instantly calm the restlessness in one's heart.
Huo Qingfeng checked the time; it was time to prepare dinner. He dressed and calmly went into the kitchen to cook for his wife. The refrigerator was full of ingredients; he had given the orderly a list to replenish them regularly. It seemed the orderly had done a very good job.
Because of her skillful movements, the four dishes and soup were served in less than half an hour. Ruoke had already put the soup on the fire to simmer, and now the whole house was filled with a rich aroma that whetted everyone's appetite.
Although reluctant to disturb his beloved wife's sleep, Huo Qingfeng had no choice but to cruelly wake her up. "Baby, it's time to get up." Huo Qingfeng pulled her into his arms and gently pinched her little nose.
Ling Ruoke slowly opened her eyes, looking at him in confusion. After a while, she gradually came to her senses and smiled slightly at him. "Husband," she said, her voice a little hoarse, with a hint of coquetry.
"Sweetie, get up and eat first, then go back to sleep." Huo Qingfeng started dressing her. He had done this many times before, so he was quite skilled at it. In no time, he had wrapped her up tightly, making sure she wouldn't get cold.
Ling Ruoke rubbed her eyes and asked him to help her put on her fluffy cotton slippers. After washing up with his help, she finally woke up. Her back ached terribly, indicating that the afternoon's passionate encounter had lasted quite a while. She couldn't help but blush slightly. Fortunately, she was still a little sleepy, so it wasn't noticeable.
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