Chapter 46: Betting on the Future

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Betting on the Future

"If you have anything on your mind, just say it. I’m here now, so we can talk it over. Once I leave on my mission, you might not be able to reach me for a while." Lu Zhengchuan broke the silence when she didn’t answer, taking on his responsibility as a man.

Su Wan thought he had a point. "Mhm, I want to go to college."

"You won’t try to stop me, will you?" ’Rather than make up excuses,’ Su Wan thought, ’it’s better to just test his reaction.’

The light in Lu Zhengchuan’s eyes dimmed for an instant, but he quickly forced himself to rally.

"Of course. I would never stand in the way of your future." Lu Zhengchuan spoke from the heart, forcing a smile for Su Wan. "This is wonderful news. I’m just as happy for you as everyone else."

"You’re okay with it?" Su Wan glanced at him, surprised.

Lu Zhengchuan said, "Jing University is a great school. I don’t want you marrying me to hold you back."

"It’s just... going to Jing University will be very difficult while you’re pregnant. I’ll need to find someone to take care of you." In just that short time, Lu Zhengchuan had already begun to make plans in his mind.

Su Wan instinctively refused. "You don’t have to. My third brother is also at a university in the Capital. We can look after each other."

"No. If you weren’t pregnant, that would be one thing, but you are. It’s not that I don’t trust your brother; I’m just worried that a man by himself won’t be able to properly care for you."

Lu Zhengchuan shook his head and laid out his plan for her. "I’ll see if I can ask my aunt for help finding someone, or find the family of a comrade I know in the Capital."

"When do you have to be at the university?" Lu Zhengchuan asked.

"I have to register by August 25th. I’ll have to go to the train station to ask when I can book a ticket."

"Don’t you worry about the tickets. I’ll have Xiao Li get them for you. Just decide on a date."

It was already July 26th, leaving less than a month until registration. Lu Zhengchuan didn’t even know if he could finish his mission and get back before Su Wan had to leave for the Capital. He couldn’t help but worry.

"I’ll also pick out the person to take care of you ahead of time, and I’ll have Xiao Li look after you until then."

"...Okay." Su Wan wasn’t used to being cared for by others. She’d been independent her whole life. But considering Lu Zhengchuan was her husband, she forced herself to try and rely on him.

After they finished their discussion, Lu Zhengchuan drove Su Wan home.

He didn’t stay long. After asking Zhang Yun to take good care of Su Wan, he sat in the driver’s seat and gave Su Wan a long, deep look. Just then, Su Wan looked up, and their eyes met through the car window.

Lu Zhengchuan put on a relaxed smile for her. "You should head inside. I’m leaving now."

"..." Su Wan’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Sensing the warmth in his voice, she finally managed to reply, "You be safe."

"The baby and I will be waiting for you to come back."

Hearing her mention the baby, Lu Zhengchuan’s expression softened considerably, the joy on his face becoming more pronounced. "Okay!"

Lu Zhengchuan drove away, and ten minutes later, Xiao Li was in the car with him.

Lu Zhengchuan instructed him, "Go by the house every day and see if your sister-in-law needs help with anything."

"And once your sister-in-law decides on a date, help her book train tickets for her and her third brother, Su Jue."

"Oh, and contact our comrade in the Capital, Qi Hao. Ask him if he knows any reliable older women who can take care of a pregnant woman. Tell him I’ll be paying and to have someone ready in advance."

After listening to all the instructions, Xiao Li glanced at him a couple of times with a strange expression. He couldn’t help but ask, "Battalion Commander, if Sister-in-law is going to college, that’s for four years. Won’t you two be living at opposite ends of the country?"

"...Are you okay with that?"

"Should I make her stay on the base for me and the baby?" Lu Zhengchuan retorted, shaking his head. "You don’t understand. If you truly love your wife, you should support her."

"Besides, we’re soldiers. Even when a husband and wife are both soldiers stationed at the same camp, they can end up separated for long periods, assigned to different posts."

Lu Zhengchuan gazed at the blazing sun ahead. "I mentally prepared myself for this sort of thing long before I even enlisted."

"Okay... I just thought that after you and Sister-in-law cleared up your misunderstanding, you’d start a happy life together. I was even looking forward to watching my little nephew or niece grow up." Xiao Li scratched his head. "I guess I got excited too soon."

"Still, Battalion Commander, Sister-in-law is so smart! To think she got into Jing University. Back in my hometown, I heard only one student made it in this year."

As Xiao Li spoke, his eyes filled with admiration for Su Wan.

"Mhm, my wife is amazing, of course." It was a rare display of pride from Lu Zhengchuan, his eyes full of admiration and a sense of shared glory. Undeniably, Su Wan, now a university-bound student, was even more attractive.

In those days, everyone admired people with good academic records.

"Hehe, Battalion Commander, do you think I could ask Sister-in-law for one of her old books? I want to take it home for my younger siblings, let them soak up some of a scholar’s good luck. It’d be great if they could get into college too." Xiao Li himself was only eighteen, and his siblings were even younger.

Lu Zhengchuan shot him a look. "If you want one, ask your sister-in-law yourself. If she says no, don’t you dare give her a hard time."

"Battalion Commander, what kind of person do you take me for?!"

"Alright, hop out. I need to catch up with the main unit."

"Yes, sir. Don’t you worry, Battalion Commander, I’ll take good care of Sister-in-law." Xiao Li got out, stood beside the Jeep, and gave him a military salute. He watched Lu Zhengchuan drive off before turning to leave himself.

「Back with Su Wan.」

After resting at home for a bit, Zhao Qing came over. Su Wan, along with Zhang Yun and Zhao Qing, got back to work firing squat toilets.

These squat toilets were the hottest item in the family compound. After all, once people saw the one at the Lu Family’s house—how it eliminated the strong odor and even made it convenient to bathe in the same room—nearly every household placed an order.

Business was booming. Su Wan could fire about four a day, and she estimated it would take another five or six days to complete all the orders.

She earned three yuan for each one, which meant she stood to make sixty or seventy yuan from this batch. Thinking about the costs of going to university in the Capital, on top of the large sum of money she would need when the baby was born, Su Wan felt even more motivated to earn money.

Zhao Qing, however, started gossiping with Su Wan. "Wanwan, I heard the Liu Family’s wedding is off?"

"It’s off, Sister-in-law. Liu Lang is obeying his parents and marrying Zheng Zhizhi." Su Wan made no effort to hide the details. "Liu Lang paid five hundred yuan in compensation, but Zheng Zhizhi still wasn’t happy about it. Aunt Liu put her in her place, though."

"After all, Liu Lang was engaged to Xiangju first. His parents only arranged his engagement to Zheng Zhizhi afterward."

Hearing this, Zhao Qing’s expression grew visibly complicated. "Is Liu Lang trying to throw away his career?"

"I think he’s being blindly obedient to his parents. Master Ji seems rather disappointed in him," Su Wan said honestly.

’I don’t really care about Zheng Zhizhi marrying Liu Lang,’ Su Wan thought. ’The events from my prophetic dream didn’t happen, after all. This time, Zheng Zhizhi and the Zheng Family are paying the price; Zheng Hai is even going to prison. I can’t be bothered to get entangled with the Zheng family. I just hope we can keep our distance and live our separate lives. As long as they don’t come looking for trouble with me, it’s fine.’

"It’s not a given that Liu Lang’s career is over. Maybe he’ll go clear landmines—risk his life to gamble on a better future," Zhao Qing said thoughtfully.