Chapter 36: The Liu Family

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The Liu Family

"Auntie, these are beautiful. I think they’re even nicer than the dishes and bowls we usually use for banquets back in the county," Liu Lang praised, blushing.

His eyes would occasionally meet those of the equally shy Liu Xiangju standing beside him, and both young people grew incredibly shy.

Su Wan glanced at Liu Lang a few times before she couldn’t resist asking, "Comrade Liu Lang, is your hometown in Yang Province as well?"

"Sister-in-law Lu, I’m from Yang County, Yang Province." Liu Lang turned to face Su Wan. There was no recognition in his eyes; he clearly didn’t know her.

Having gotten a direct answer, Su Wan casually continued, "Your younger brother is named Liu Cong, isn’t he?"

"Sister-in-law Lu, you... know my brother?" A flicker of emotion crossed Liu Lang’s face. His brows knitted slightly, a hint of displeasure he concealed very well.

But Su Wan had been watching him intently and naturally didn’t miss his subtle reaction.

"I do. I’m also from Yang County. I went to school in the county town and ran into Liu Cong there." Su Wan offered a casual excuse. In reality, she had seen Liu Cong and Liu Lang in a precognitive dream.

In the precognitive dream, a plain-clothed Liu Lang had taken Liu Cong for a visit to the Zheng Family in the village.

And they had run right into her as she was preparing to set the Zheng Family’s house on fire.

At the time, she was in no mood to care why the two of them had come to the Zheng Family’s home. Once they left, and after she confirmed that the rest of the Zheng Family were all inside, she set a fire that ended all their lives.

And Liu Cong was the very man from the county town who had previously proposed marriage to Zheng Zhizhi.

She had never known any Liu Cong during her school days.

It was only after the recent incident with the Zheng Family that she learned from Lu Zhengchuan that Liu Cong was the one who had proposed to Zheng Zhizhi.

He was the one who had refused to pay the exorbitant bride price.

Liu Cong had refused the high bride price, but for some reason, the Zheng Family had shifted the blame for the proposal onto Lu Zhengchuan.

That was what had started all those rumors in the village.

The more she learned, the more she realized how unreliable the rumors were. But since Lu Zhengchuan was involved, she was determined to pay close attention.

"What a coincidence. Sister-in-law Lu, my brother didn’t bully you, did he?" Liu Lang’s gaze rested on Su Wan. Seeing her striking beauty and captivating air—stunning at first glance and even more so on second look—made his heart pound with anxiety.

Su Wan sensed his concern, and various thoughts surfaced in her mind.

’Does Liu Cong have a bad temper?’

’I wonder what his relationship with Zheng Zhizhi was really like.’

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but she simply offered Liu Lang a faint smile and deliberately left her sentence unfinished.

"We only met a few times. I wouldn’t call it bullying."

Liu Lang paused, looking as if he wanted to say something more but held back.

Aunt Liu was already calling for him. "Liu Lang, come over and see if there’s anything else you need. I’ll have Comrade Su Wan make it at the same time."

Liu Lang had no choice but to go over.

But as he spoke with Aunt Liu, his gaze kept drifting, intentionally or not, toward Su Wan.

Su Wan let them pick out the floral designs while she immersed herself in painting.

Once Aunt Liu had made her purchases, she left with Liu Lang and Liu Xiangju.

Before dark, Su Wan stopped for the day, and Zhao Qing also packed up and headed home.

Zhang Yun went into the kitchen to make dinner.

Lu Zhengchuan had just finished repairing the bathroom, but they needed to wait for the cement to dry, so it couldn’t be used yet.

Su Wan followed behind him.

"Hm?" Lu Zhengchuan stopped and turned around. "I’m going to wash my hands at the public well."

The unspoken message was that Su Wan shouldn’t follow him; it was too dark outside.

In just a few steps, Su Wan was at his side. She looked up and said, "I need to wash my hands, too."

"Huh? There’s water at home. I’m filthy and I stink, so I was planning to take a bath while I’m at it." Lu Zhengchuan was about to head to his single-person dorm to grab a basin and towel.

"You can take your bath, and I can wash my hands," Su Wan insisted.

Seeing that he couldn’t dissuade her, Lu Zhengchuan had no choice but to agree. All the way to the public bathhouse, he watched her feet carefully, afraid she might trip on a stone and fall.

The paths in the camp were level, but there were still small pebbles, though it was much better than a dirt road.

The public bathhouse was divided into men’s and women’s sections.

Su Wan saw quite a few female soldiers washing clothes or their faces by the edge of the water.

Su Wan said, "I’ll go wash my hands. You go take your bath."

"Alright." Lu Zhengchuan was still worried about her, but he felt he couldn’t even get close to her without washing up first. He rushed to get his clothes and basin, but before entering the men’s bathhouse, he called out to Xu Yan.

"Comrade Xu Yan, could I trouble you to look after my wife? She’s pregnant, and I don’t feel right leaving her alone."

Su Wan had already seen Xu Yan walking toward her and was still thinking of what to say when Lu Zhengchuan’s request made Xu Yan roll her eyes.

’She didn’t know if Lu Zhengchuan was doing it on purpose. Had he really not noticed that she used to have a crush on him?’

Before Xu Yan could sort out her thoughts, Lu Zhengchuan’s words made her whip her head around to stare at Su Wan.

"You... you’re pregnant?" Xu Yan asked in disbelief.

She had only been away from the base for a few days. How could so much have happened?

The sudden appearance of Zheng Zhizhi and the clarification of Su Wan’s reputation regarding the letters were surprising enough on their own.

Let alone the news that Su Wan was now pregnant.

In that instant, Xu Yan gave up on any lingering feelings for Lu Zhengchuan. His wife was pregnant; it wasn’t like she could become a stepmother. Even if she thought Lu Zhengchuan was an excellent man, this changed everything.

"I’ll take good care of Comrade Su Wan. Now, go on, get out of here." Xu Yan waved her hand, shooing Lu Zhengchuan away.

Lu Zhengchuan felt more at ease. After getting a nod of confirmation from Su Wan, he turned and went into the bathhouse.

The moment Lu Zhengchuan was gone, Xu Yan eagerly asked, "Are you really pregnant? When did it happen?"

"I’m three months along. It must have happened on our wedding night." Su Wan felt Xu Yan was a decent person, so there was no need to hide it from her.

Hearing this, Xu Yan covered her face with her hands. "Then when did you find out?"

"Not long after I arrived at the base..." Su Wan admitted openly.

Xu Yan’s eyes widened. "You mean... you’ve been here all this time and never told any of us you were pregnant?"

"I had a misunderstanding with Lu Zhengchuan at first, so I was afraid to tell him about the pregnancy. I didn’t want things to be affected by it, and I didn’t want my child to call another woman ’Mom’ someday."

Stunned by her words, Xu Yan didn’t reply for a long moment.

Su Wan finished washing her hands.

A familiar figure approached—it was Liu Lang.

Seeing Xu Yan standing beside Su Wan, Liu Lang hesitated for a moment.

After exchanging a few more words with Xu Yan, Su Wan walked over to him.

Liu Lang pursed his lips. When Su Wan drew near, he was the first to speak. "Sister-in-law Lu, what exactly is your relationship with my brother?"

"You know Zheng Zhizhi, don’t you? From my village." Su Wan stared at him, bringing it up herself. "Your brother, Liu Cong, once went to the Zheng Family to propose to her."

"They demanded an exorbitant bride price of five hundred yuan and a sewing machine. You must know about that, right?" Su Wan thought, ’Since he brought Liu Cong to the Zheng Family home in my dream, the two brothers must have a decent relationship.’