Chapter 339 Birthday Celebration 2
Back inside, Nan Zhiyi picked up the bright red and gold-flecked birthday banquet invitation from the entryway cabinet.
The post was in the traditional vertical format, with neat handwriting, and it was an invitation to a banquet for Qin Fen's mother, Ms. Chen Xiuying, to celebrate her 70th birthday. The date was set for the weekend after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Gu Xiao had already agreed at dinner, and Qin Fen was so happy that he kept saying "that's great!" He also mentioned that he could take this opportunity to get together with some of his military academy alumni in Beijing, who are now working in the General Staff Department, the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and the Beijing Garrison Command.
Nan Zhiyi knew that although Gu Xiao had been busy with work during his years in Beijing, he would occasionally get together with these old acquaintances to maintain necessary relationships.
Gu Xiao was leaning against the headboard, flipping through documents. After Nan Zhiyi finished washing up, she lay on his chest, feeling the reassuring warmth.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner,” she said softly. “I sent holiday gift packages to Dad, Aunt Feng, and Gu Yan. Dad called a couple of days ago to say he received them. He said he sent a package to Xiaoman, but it hasn’t arrived yet.”
Gu Xiao hummed in agreement, looked up from the document, and kissed her forehead. "My wife is so virtuous."
Nan Zhiyi nuzzled against him, her fingers tracing the muscular chest muscles that were visible at the collar of his pajamas, and she thought of the birthday banquet again.
"Fifth Brother, when Dad turns 70 in a couple of years, should we throw him a celebration too?"
Gu Xiao placed the documents in his hand on the bedside table, patted her back with his large hand, and shook his head: "With Dad's temper, he probably won't agree. A few years ago, when he turned sixty, my eldest brother suggested having a celebration, but Dad directly rejected it, saying he didn't want to make a big fuss and trouble his comrades and subordinates, and he disliked those empty gifts, thinking they were a waste."
Commander Gu, a veteran revolutionary, has always been frugal and dislikes ostentation. He is even less willing to make a big fuss for his birthday and trouble his relatives, friends, and former subordinates.
"Alright then, we'll do whatever Dad says. I was just thinking that if Dad changes his mind later, we can still contribute money and effort."
"I understand. I'll ask Dad what he thinks first; it's too early to think about these things now."
He countered with, "I have a day off for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Where would you like to go?"
Nan Zhiyi pondered seriously, her fingertips gently tracing the muscle lines beneath his pajamas: "One day... there's definitely not enough time to go far. How about we go to Fragrant Hills to see the autumn leaves? I heard they turned red early this year. Or how about we go boating on Beihai Park? Xiaoman likes that..."
Gu Xiao was still listening to her advice, but her hands, touching and pressing here and there on his body like feathers, gradually disturbed his breathing.
She was still there, endlessly comparing Fragrant Hills and Beihai Park, completely unaware of the increasingly dark gaze in the man's eyes beneath her.
Suddenly, before Nan Zhiyi could react, he pinned her down completely.
The unfinished words turned into a muffled sob.
"Hmm..."
He stretched out his arm and turned off the bedside lamp.
As dawn broke, Gu Xiao woke up and first turned his head to look at his wife beside him, who was fast asleep.
He remembered that she didn't have classes in the morning and could sleep in a little longer.
Gu Xiao made no movement and got out of bed silently.
As he passed by his son's room, he glanced inside and saw that Xiaoman was still fast asleep, sprawled out on his back.
Gu Xiao hurried downstairs, heading to the military base for morning training, enjoying the cool morning breeze.
After training, he made a special trip home.
At this time, Nan Zhiyi was still asleep, while Xiaoman was already sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast under the care of Sister Zhang.
"Dad!" Xiaoman's eyes lit up when she saw her father come back.
Gu Xiao patted his son's head and said to Sister Zhang, "I'm coming back for breakfast, and I'll give him a ride on my way."
He quickly finished his breakfast, glanced at his watch, and said to Xiaoman, who was still trying to finish her porridge, "Gu Zhao, hurry up, Dad will take you to school."
Upon hearing this, Xiaoman immediately sped up, shoveled the porridge out of the small bowl, and put on her schoolbag.
Xiao Liu was already waiting in his car outside the courtyard.
Xiaoman was carried into the car by her father and settled in the back seat.
As the car started, the little guy excitedly looked left and right, and finally reached out his little hand to tightly grasp his father's big hand.
"Dad, when I grow up, I want to learn how to drive a car and take Mom to school."
Looking at his son's serious expression, Gu Xiao replied, "Okay. Then you must take good care of your mother, okay?"
Xiaoman nodded vigorously, thought for a moment, and then said, "Okay! I'll take care of you too."
Gu Xiao: "Yeah, thanks for the 'by the way'."
We arrived at the kindergarten gate.
Gu Xiao told Xiaoman to go in by herself, but the little girl held onto his hand tightly and looked at him expectantly, saying, "Daddy, please take me in."
Gu Xiao was a little puzzled, but he still complied and led the boy into the school.
Along the way, whenever Xiaoman recognized a child, she would vigorously shake her father's hand and puff out her little chest to introduce them:
"Look! This is my dad!"
"My dad is so tall, isn't he? Taller than your dad!"
"My dad's clothes are the best!"
Gu Xiao then realized that his son wanted to show off his dad to his friends.
Finally, after getting Xiaoman into the classroom, the little one didn't forget to loudly announce to the teacher and classmates, "My dad brought me here today! My dad is a People's Liberation Army soldier!"
Immediately, a chorus of exclamations erupted in the classroom, and several pairs of small eyes focused on Gu Xiao, filled with curiosity.
Gu Xiao remained calm and composed even when facing a massive army, but now, being stared at by a group of young kids with those kinds of eyes, he surprisingly felt a little uncomfortable.
He nodded to the teachers and children, patted Xiaoman on the head, and said, "Study hard, Dad's leaving now."
As Gu Xiao strode through the corridor, he could still faintly hear his son's cheerful voice coming from the classroom, and he couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.
After getting into the car, Xiao Liu drove towards the meeting venue in the city.
The meeting lasted from 9 a.m. until the afternoon, and the content involved coordination of preliminary plans for several large-scale joint exercises in the second half of the year. Representatives from various military regions and services had different opinions, and the discussion was quite heated.
After the meeting, without taking a break, he drove with several staff officers to a training base on the outskirts of Beijing to inspect the adaptation training of the new equipment.
When I returned to the command office in the army compound, the clock on the wall had already struck three in the afternoon.
On the desk, a rather large stack of documents awaiting review and approval had piled up again.
He took off his military cap and hung it up. Just as he sat down at his desk, Xiao Liu knocked on the door and came in carrying two aluminum lunch boxes.
“Minister,” Xiao Liu placed the lunchbox in an empty corner of the desk, “you didn’t have time to eat lunch, have something to tide you over.”
Gu Xiao then remembered about lunch. He grunted in response, his gaze still fixed on a report he had just opened, and lifted the lid of his lunchbox with his right hand.
Seeing this, Xiao Liu placed a freshly brewed cup of hot tea where the man wouldn't easily touch it, then quietly withdrew and closed the door behind him.
Gu Xiao had just taken two bites of his steamed bun when the telephone on the table rang.
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