Chapter 196: Suit Yourself

Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Suit Yourself

"Brother Su, that’s not it. Hear me out." As Aunt Zhao was telling Father Su that Zhou Yu had mentioned Zhang Xiaohong was unhappy with Su Wan, Second Sister-in-law Su happened to walk over, holding Nuannuan.

And she heard everything.

"My goodness. That Zhang Xiaohong seemed like such a normal girl back in the village. How could she say something so awful now?"

"I know Zhang Xiaohong. She married into the Guo Family from my mother’s village, Shangyang Team. Uncle Guo is the team captain. She married his second son, Guo Weimin. True to his name, he’s a pretty honest man."

"Because Guo Weimin is such a pushover, Zhang Xiaohong has been the dominant one in the relationship ever since they married. After the third son of the Guo Family got a wife, they separated their households."

"Zhang Xiaohong also gave birth to three daughters in a row before finally having a son. Her son is still quite young; I hear he just turned two this year."

Father Su’s expression darkened. "What does her family business have to do with us? The Zhang family has never done our Wanwan any favors. What right do they have to expect Wanwan to go out of her way for them?"

"If they’ve got the guts, they should go find Zheng Chuan themselves!"

"Bullies always go for the easy target."

"Dad, I’m not finished. Zhang Xiaohong’s son was born prematurely, and he took a fall right after birth. I heard they had to stay in the county hospital for a month just to save both the baby’s and Zhang Xiaohong’s lives."

Father Su hmphed. "That’s still no excuse for her to run her mouth."

"My point is, she’s short on money. It’s very likely because of this that she said those sour things when Zhou Yu went to investigate my brother-in-law’s past."

Second Sister-in-law Su explained her theory.

Father Su was displeased. "Why does the Zhang family keep producing such clueless younger generations?"

"It’s normal for people to get jealous after they’ve started their own families and see others doing better. The reason our family doesn’t have conflicts is that you and Mom treat us all equally, and you even arranged jobs for all of us."

"Things are going well for us, and we all get along, so of course we wouldn’t scheme against our own relatives."

"In any case, we should still tell Wanwan about this Zhang Xiaohong so she can be on guard." Fearing the others might not take it seriously, Second Sister-in-law Su added this reminder for emphasis.

Su Wan came back at noon.

She didn’t see Zhou Yu, so she figured he must be coming in the afternoon.

She had barely stepped into the courtyard before Second Sister-in-law Su pulled her aside and told her everything.

It suddenly clicked for Su Wan. "That explains it! I knew Zhou Yu’s attitude was a little strange when he met me."

"At the time, I thought he was acting strangely toward me because of Mr. Lu’s inheritance."

"Wanwan, aren’t you angry?" Second Sister-in-law Su asked with concern.

"What’s there to be angry about? My conscience is clear with the Zhang family. As for Mr. Lu having a bad first impression of me, that’s his business and has nothing to do with me. I was never after his family fortune anyway. Him not liking me doesn’t affect my life at all."

Second Sister-in-law Su couldn’t help but smile. "Wanwan, you really are a level-headed person."

"No greed, no bad feelings," Su Wan stated simply.

"That’s true," Second Sister-in-law Su said. "But he seems to be bothered by you using Zheng Chuan’s position to help your family."

"Let him be bothered by it. What’s it to me? I’m not relying on *him*, I’m relying on my own husband. If you can’t even rely on your husband after marrying him, then what’s the point?"

"Since he doesn’t like me, so be it. It’s a good thing I didn’t go see him alone before, or I’d probably have been chewed out by the old man."

"That’s true." Su Wan’s frank and open attitude instantly dispelled Second Sister-in-law Su’s worries.

In the following days, nothing was heard from Zhang Yun or Mr. Lu.

No one came to bother Su Wan with idle gossip.

So she focused on taking care of her children and attending her classes in peace.

One day, Professor Wang stopped her and invited her to join the experiment group.

Su Wan had no reason to refuse this time. After all, she had already been resting for nearly ten days.

Having agreed to join Professor Wang’s experiment group, Su Wan sensed something was off on the very first day.

"Wanwan, what are you thinking about? You’re spacing out while I’m talking to you." After feeding Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, Aunt Zhao had said several things to Su Wan, but she hadn’t reacted at all.

Su Wan snapped out of it, shook her head lightly, and said, "It’s nothing..."

"Wanwan, if something’s wrong, you really mustn’t keep it from us," Aunt Zhao said worriedly.

She clearly thought Su Wan had been wronged in the recent incidents with Mr. Lu and the Zhang family.

Seeing the misunderstanding, Su Wan explained, "I was just thinking about the experiment group at the university."

"What about the experiment group?"

"I suspect that the project the group is working on can only be completed by leaving the Capital."

"What? Wanwan, you’re leaving the Capital?"

"It’s just a guess, but even if I do have to go on a trip for work, it shouldn’t be for another three months." Su Wan was giving Aunt Zhao a heads-up.

"That’s good. At least Zheng Chuan will surely be back from his mission by then."

Aunt Zhao had always firmly believed that Lu Zhengchuan was just away on a mission and that it was absolutely impossible for him to be missing.

Su Wan nodded.

Unexpectedly, that very night, Lu Zhengchuan, who had been gone for over ten days, returned.

Su Wan felt the mattress dip behind her. Her eyes flew open, her drowsy mind instantly sharp and awake.

"Lu Zhengchuan?"

"Wanwan, did I wake you?" Lu Zhengchuan, who had been lying down, quickly sat up.

"You’re really back! Are you okay?"

Su Wan reached out to check his body.

Lu Zhengchuan tensed and instinctively grabbed her hand.

"Wanwan, I’m fine. The mission’s complete. We caught quite a few spies. The bastards were disguised as street thugs, frequenting all sorts of entertainment venues. They were corrupting people on one hand and gathering intelligence on the other, trying to affect the war effort in the south."

Hearing this didn’t stop Su Wan; on the contrary, it made her even more determined to check him for injuries.

"I don’t care about anything else. First, let me see your injuries."

"The more you try to stop me, the more it proves you’re hurt."

Lu Zhengchuan rubbed his nose, looking guilty.

Right in front of Su Wan, he took off his shirt.

By the moonlight, Su Wan saw the bandages wrapped around his waist and a back covered in scars from old bullet wounds.

Most of the scars were old.

But among them were some new wounds that had just begun to scab over.

Su Wan pursed her lips. "And you call this being fine?"

"Do you want me to take Tuantuan and Yuanyuan and remarry? To have your children call another man ’Dad’ and get picked on by others? Is that what you want?"

Lu Zhengchuan grew frantic and grabbed her arm. "No, you can’t."

"What do you mean, I can’t? It’s a fact. It’s not like you don’t know what happens to the children of your comrades who’ve died in the line of duty."

Lu Zhengchuan argued weakly, "But some army wives raise their children alone."

At his words, Su Wan reached out and pressed her hand right on one of his wounds.

"OW, OW, OW..."

"So now you feel the pain? You think just because an army wife raises her children alone, it isn’t hard for her?"

Lu Zhengchuan grasped her hand, brought it to his lips, and placed a kiss on it. "Wanwan, the nature of my job... I can only promise to do my best not to get myself killed."

Su Wan lowered her gaze to his wounds. "Whatever."