When Su Wanwan was six years old, she broke the family computer.
"Mommy! It's not moving again!" The little girl, with messy short hair and thermal paste still on her fingers from the motherboard, shouted towards the kitchen.
Lin Yan ran out of the kitchen, wiping her hands, and saw the computer tower lying in disarray on the living room floor. She couldn't help but facepalm: "Wanwan, didn't Daddy say we shouldn't disassemble a running computer?"
"But it was making a buzzing sound just now, like it was about to explode!" Su Wanwan blinked her big eyes, holding up a CPU, "I wanted to cool it down..."
Lin Yan crouched down, looking at the eager curiosity in her daughter's bright eyes, and couldn't bring herself to be angry. She gently wiped the dust from Su Wanwan's nose: "Wait until Daddy comes back and he'll teach you the right way, okay?"
"Mom is the best!" Su Wanwan threw herself into Lin Yan's arms, leaving behind a few dusty little handprints.
At seven o'clock in the evening, Su Qiming pushed open the door, carrying his daughter's favorite strawberry cake. He had just finished a two-week "business trip" and still looked travel-worn.
"Daddy!" Su Wanwan rushed over like a little cannonball, and Su Mingyuan lifted her up above his head, eliciting a burst of silvery laughter.
"Let me see if our little princess has grown taller!" Su Qiming rubbed his stubble against his daughter's cheek, making her giggle. "I heard you took Daddy's computer apart?"
Su Wanwan hugged her father's neck and whispered mysteriously in his ear, "I found a little bug on the motherboard, so I chased it away!"
Su Qiming and his wife exchanged a glance. They had long noticed their daughter's extraordinary sensitivity to electronic devices; she could unlock her parents' phones at three and figured out how to crack the password to a locked computer at five. This "computer disassembly" incident was just another display of her talent.
After dinner, Su Qiming didn't turn on the TV to watch the news as usual, but instead took his daughter to the study. He took an exquisite box out of the drawer.
"Wanwan, this is the gift Daddy promised to give you."
Su Wanwan couldn't wait to open the package. Inside was a children's programming toolkit and a mini laptop.
"Starting today, Daddy will teach you real computer languages," Su Qiming said, ruffling his daughter's hair. "But you have to promise Daddy that you'll ask an adult before taking anything apart, okay?"
"Yes!" Su Wanwan nodded emphatically, her eyes shining like stars. "I want to learn a skill even better than Dad's!"
Lin Yan leaned against the doorframe, watching her husband and daughter huddled together, studying the new computer, and a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips. Such a night was so ordinary, yet so precious.
On Su Wanwan's eighth birthday, many guests came to her house. Su Qiming built an inflatable castle in the yard, and Lin Yan prepared a three-tiered strawberry cake. The birthday girl, dressed in a blue tutu, flitted among her friends like a happy little butterfly.
"Wanwan, make a wish!" Lin Yan lit the candles on the cake.
Under everyone's gaze, Su Wanwan closed her eyes, her face flushed red in the candlelight: "I want to be with Mom and Dad forever!"
The adults laughed, but a barely perceptible worry lingered in Su Qiming and Lin Yan's smiles. That evening, after settling their tired daughter, the couple spoke quietly in the kitchen.
"Is this mission very dangerous?" Lin Yan asked, her fingers trembling slightly as she wiped the now-cleaned plates.
Su Qiming hugged his wife from behind: "Don't worry, everything will be fine. The higher-ups said we both need to go this time." He kissed the top of her head. "We'll be back in two weeks at most, just in time for our wedding anniversary."
Lin Yan asked worriedly, "What about Wanwan?"
"How about this, have your mother come over and take care of Wanwan for a few days, there won't be any problems," Su Qiming said after thinking for a moment.
The next morning, Su Wanwan was awakened by a delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes and went downstairs, only to find her parents already dressed and ready to go.
"Is Daddy going on another business trip?" Su Wanwan ran over barefoot and hugged Su Qiming's leg. "Mom, what's wrong?"
Su Qiming crouched down, looking his daughter straight in the eye: "Wanwan, take good care of yourself. When Daddy comes back, I'll teach you even more amazing computer magic, okay?"
Lin Yan also said, "Mom needs to go on a business trip with Dad. Mom asked Grandma to come and keep you company for the next few days. We'll be back soon."
"Pinky promise!" Su Wanwan extended her little finger.
"Pinky promise."
This promise was ultimately not kept. Since Su Qiming and Lin Yan left that morning, they never returned.
Grandma had always been there for Su Wanwan as she grew up. At first, Grandma would say that Mom and Dad were on a difficult mission and wouldn't be back for a while. But as time went on, Su Wanwan developed an immunity to the same words each time, and this continued until she turned ten. As usual, she looked forward to her parents coming home to celebrate her birthday with her.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and she practically pounced to open the door. But instead of her parents, two strangers in formal uniforms stood outside.
"Hello, Wanwan..." Lin Zhengguo's voice was unusually heavy. "I'm your father's colleague. May we come in?"
Su Wanwan took a step back, her small hands gripping the doorknob tightly. She didn't understand why her father's colleagues had all come to her house, but her parents hadn't returned.
Su Wanwan's grandmother came out of the kitchen and was surprised to see the scene at the door.
Su Wanwan didn't understand a word the two people said next. She only remembered that her grandmother's soup spoon fell to the ground with a clatter, and she slumped to the ground as if all her strength had been drained away.
Several of Su Qiming's colleagues who arrived immediately helped the elderly man up.
The people from Longyuan acted swiftly, taking Su Wanwan's grandmother to the military hospital. At that moment, a man who called himself Lin Zhengguo walked up to Su Wanwan and said with a kind expression, "Your name is Su Wanwan, right?"
Su Wanwan nodded. A look of pain flashed in Lin Zhengguo's eyes, but he quickly concealed it and continued, "I am your father's boss. I heard from your father that you are very capable."
Su Wanwan blinked and stared at the person in front of her, saying, "Grandpa, do you know my dad?"
Lin Zhengguo gave a forced smile and said, "I know your father."
"Can you tell me when Daddy and Mommy are coming back? Wanwan misses them so much," Su Wanwan said sadly.
Lin Zhengguo was speechless for a moment. He looked up and forgot the words "Undergoing Emergency Treatment" above his head. He didn't know what to say.
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