The Road Home

Chapter 36

Six o'clock in the morning.

Lu Yanchen arbitrarily grabbed one of her bedside reads. Lying on his side beside her, his head resting on the crook of his arm, he paged through it, but he was not really processing what he read. He merely wanted to understand a bit of what she was reading of late. The bedside light was set behind two old-fashioned, lemon-colored panels of glass, and when it shone down, the design on the glass was like a rose... This sort of lighting would cause headaches from just taking even a couple of extra glances at it. Lu Yanchen's actions followed the lead of his thoughts, and with his brows creased in a frown, he began to examine that light source, musing that the next time he came back he would need to change her lamp for her.

"I just had a dream. I dreamed that you'd left already." Without opening her eyes, Gui Xiao stroked the back of his hand. Then, intertwining her fingers one at a time with his, she grasped his hand. "It gave me a scare. And then I woke up."

"Leaving very soon." He closed the book.

"Then touch my belly first." She pulled his hand under the light blanket and even lifted her pajamas up, letting him touch her abdomen. The rough skin of his palm, which carried warmth to it, slowly glided over her belly.

"When I'm seven, eight months in and you touch it again, you won't be able to feel the dip of a belly button. It's going to pop out," she quietly informed him.

Taking his hand away, he pulled her pajamas back down for her and covered her abdomen back up. "Sleep now."

With those words, the light turned off.

"Lu Chen..." Gui Xiao circled her arms around his neck. "I know you can't tell me any specific details. Just tell me, is the danger great this time? Tell me the truth." She had always been supportive and understanding of his work. This was actually her first time blatantly asking him about it.

In the dimness, Lu Yanchen gave a low chuckle. "Don't be scaring yourself all day long. It's not like we're filming a television drama. It'll be fine."

That night, Lu Yanchen arrived back at the factory. At some time past two o'clock in the middle of the night, the people from Erenhot who had been mobilized here also arrived.

Qin Mingyu was the first to jump out of the vehicle. Spotting the several leading officers and Lu Yanchen, who were all waiting for them, he headed over with long strides. He first gave a salute, then began, as usual practice, to give a report of the current state.

Next, everyone else came out from the vehicle. It was no overstatement to say that when they saw Lu Yanchen's face, their eyes all lit up.

After Qin Mingyu was done giving his account, their report for duty was considered completed. The leading officers of their own accord left this space to these old comrades-in-arms. Once everyone was dismissed, Qin Mingyu was the first to give a hard slam with his elbow into Lu Yanchen's chest. "Oh, you are good, eh. For anything that requires people to flirt with death, the first ones you think of are your bros."

Lu Yanchen did not waste any words. Throwing an arm around Qin Mingyu's neck, he began describing the situation here. In the deep hours of the night, Qin Mingyu and the four other people who had come to provide backup each picked up their own duffle bag and strode towards the factory dormitory, listening as they walked.

The height of summer ended and slid into autumn weather.

Gui Xiao mailed a stack of coloured photographs that she had printed out.

They were 4D ultrasound pictures, and in the images the baby's face and even facial expressions could be seen. On the side, Gui Xiao had even written some annotations: