Chapter 142: Catching a Spy

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Catching a Spy

The man paid, took the noodles with a grateful look, and left.

Father Su rubbed his slightly aching stomach. After seeing the man off, he also went into the bathroom.

"Heh, for someone to be in the toilet that long, it’s a wonder there’s no smell at all. How strange."

Father Su squatted down. After finishing his business, he reached for the coarse toilet paper placed nearby. The moment he touched the spot, he knew something was wrong.

Where was the paper?

’Where’s that big stack of paper I had?’ he thought. ’How could it have all disappeared?’

He glanced at the wastebasket beside him; there was no used paper in it either.

Father Su’s face flushed red in an instant. ’How could that punk have taken the paper?’

In the end, Father Su squatted in the bathroom until his legs went numb. It was only when Mother Su came to call for him that he embarrassedly explained his predicament.

Mother Su was speechless, but she still got him some paper.

After cleaning up and coming out of the bathroom, Father Su followed Mother Su. "I never would’ve thought that kid would take all the paper. It’s weird, too. He didn’t even throw any in the wastebasket. Did he take it with him?"

"It’s just a bit of rough paper. To take even that... he must be so cheap."

A soldier stationed near the Su family home overheard this. His ears twitched, and he immediately passed the information along.

Right away, a soldier silently began to tail the man who had left.

The soldier watched the man return to the paper mill’s family-staff courtyard and followed him inside.

The moment the man entered his room, the sound of a telegraph signal began. The soldier climbed onto the roof and lifted a tile, discovering the man below secretly sending a message. He immediately waved his hand, signaling for the arrest.

A group of soldiers burst into the man’s assigned room and caught him red-handed.

"Chief, we tracked him. The man’s really a spy, sending telegraphs for money."

"Excellent. Continue with the arrests."

The man’s eyes widened, not knowing how he’d been exposed. Muffled sounds escaped his mouth as both he and his pregnant wife were taken away.

「The Su Residence.」

There was a knock on the door. Father Su went to open it and saw a young soldier standing there. He subconsciously asked, "Are you here for my Wanwan?"

"Uncle Su, it’s like this. We are members of the ** unit." The young soldier first introduced himself.

Father Su quickly invited him in, asking Mother Su to join him in hosting their guest.

He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle the situation on his own.

"We’d like to ask about the guest you had this evening."

Father Su didn’t understand.

Mother Su, however, was the first to cooperate and explained the situation.

"Thank you for your cooperation. That man was a spy who came to inquire about Battalion Commander Lu’s family. From now on, you can just continue living your normal lives."

"What?! A spy!" Father Su was stunned.

Mother Su quickly stopped the young soldier to ask, "Comrade, is my son-in-law all right?"

"Auntie, don’t worry, Battalion Commander Lu is very safe. As for the spy issue, you can read about it in tomorrow’s newspaper."

The young soldier couldn’t say much more and only offered a brief reassurance.

"Then what about my daughter, Wanwan?"

"Comrade Su Wan’s situation hasn’t changed, and she isn’t under our jurisdiction. Auntie, you can contact her directly."

Seeing that he didn’t seem nervous or evasive, Mother Su knew the situation wasn’t dire and felt relieved.

The young soldier left and headed to the hospital to find Wang Ju for further investigation.

"What in the world just happened?" Father Su had a long face after seeing the young soldier off.

Mother Su slapped him on the back of the head. "Don’t bring strangers home anymore. The one time you do, you bring home a spy. These people must be crazy."

The next day, Father Su went to the newsstand to buy a newspaper first thing in the morning, while Mother Su went to call Su Wan.

When they saw the newspaper, they roughly understood what was happening. A war had broken out in the south.

"Zheng Chuan isn’t going to the battlefield, is he?" Father Su asked worriedly.

Mother Su rolled her eyes. "Do you even need to ask? If Zheng Chuan wasn’t going to the battlefield, why would those spies be asking about his family?"

"I wonder if Wanwan knows. I hope she and the baby don’t get scared."

As she said this, Mother Su made a call to Su Wan.

Since arriving at the courtyard house, Su Wan’s life had settled into a routine. She had regular check-ups each day, and the baby in her belly wasn’t giving her any trouble.

"Mom, was there really a spy?" Su Wan was stunned to hear the news.

"Yes, and they even praised us. They said the man they caught had been in hiding for many years. He’s a traitor who was selling information to foreigners—a real cancer. He’d been hiding so well that the military had been trying to catch him for a long time."

"Mom, Dad, you two are amazing."

"It was nothing, we just got lucky. The military is even going to give us a medal," Mother Su said proudly.

Su Wan, however, felt completely at ease now. ’It seems the military really did arrange for people to protect Mom and Dad,’ she thought. ’Besides, after this incident, it’s unlikely any more spies will try to get close to them.’

After hanging up the phone, Su Wan turned and said, "Aunt Zhao, let’s go take a look at today’s newspaper."

"Alright, the young soldier at the gate has one. I’ll go get it."

Aunt Zhao helped Su Wan outside before going to get the newspaper.

"Comrade Su Wan, hello."

Su Wan looked at the woman addressing her; it was the other pregnant woman from across the hall, the one she’d met when she first arrived.

"Comrade Huang Qing, hello." Su Wan responded with a polite nod.

Huang Qing shyly glanced at her belly a couple of times and asked, "Is your due date less than a month away?"

"Yes, it is," Su Wan nodded.

Huang Qing touched her own belly and said, "My due date is also in a month. What a coincidence."

"Hmm?" Su Wan gave a polite, distant nod, not planning to press the conversation further. She didn’t know Huang Qing, and it was unwise to speak too freely with a stranger.

Huang Qing, however, showed no such reservations and said with some worry, "I heard there’s only a small clinic here in the compound, and it isn’t equipped for deliveries. Also, the doctor at the clinic is a man. I’m a little scared."

"Scared of what?" Su Wan didn’t understand what she was getting at.

"I’m afraid a male doctor will be rougher when delivering my baby, and that it will hurt more."

"Besides, I’m a woman. How can I let another man see my body? It’s one thing to let him take my blood pressure, but for childbirth, you have to take off your pants."

As she spoke, Huang Qing looked exceptionally worried. "My parents always said a girl must respect herself. The only man in my life is my husband, and I don’t want any other man to see my body."

Su Wan was a bit perplexed. She didn’t mind whether a doctor was male or female, just as a physics student wouldn’t mind the gender of their classmates.

Her way of thinking was different, so she couldn’t immediately relate to Huang Qing’s worries.

"Worrying like this isn’t good for you. How about this: go talk to Squad Leader Wang about it. That way, you can avoid a last-minute rush to change doctors when you go into labor."

Huang Qing nodded emphatically, then looked at her again, a little embarrassed. "You’re right, Comrade Su Wan, but... I don’t dare go. I’m afraid the leadership will think I’m being difficult."

"...But if we went together, the leadership would understand it’s an oversight on their part, not a personal issue of ours."