Chapter 91 Long Time No See

Chapter 91: Long Time No See

"General Gu, sorry for keeping you waiting. This way, please."

A Resistance Zone staffer recognized Gu Zhen and immediately hurried over.

Gu Zhen pulled his eyes away from the kid.

"I wasn't waiting long. No worries—let's head in."

"You were checking out that kid? Wonder whose little one he is," the staffer said with a smile, glancing at the child too. "Don't worry, this is Resistance HQ—cameras are everywhere. Nobody's snatching kids around here. His folks probably just ducked inside to grab a coffee."

Gu Zhen didn't say anything, just nodded, and followed the staffer into Resistance HQ.

Round, light-chestnut eyes, thin eyebrows, pale skin.

None of these were exactly one-of-a-kind features.

Ugly kids came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but cute kids did tend to look alike.

Besides, that kid was pretty old—at least three by now. Even if Zhu Shinian had really moved on after leaving, gotten married, and started a family, the kid wouldn't be that old.

Still, at first glance, the kid inexplicably reminded him of the fourteen-year-old Zhu Shinian who'd first walked into his life.

"General Gu, have some tea. Lord Archon will be here soon, but the Federation folks probably won't get here that fast. Meeting still starts at eight as planned."

Gu Zhen nodded. "Go on, get back to work."

From the third-floor window, the kid was already gone—probably picked up by his parents.

A bit later, someone pushed the door open. Gu Zhen looked up—it was Resistance Deputy Governor Lin Wenyuan.

Gu Zhen stood up and reached out to shake his hand first. Lin Wenyuan smiled, made small talk, and praised Gu Zhen's brilliant tactics in the landing battle against the Federation.

Not long ago, the Imperial army had been getting pushed back by the Resistance, so this compliment was obviously just empty politeness.

The defeat wasn't just Gu Zhen's fault—the whole Imperial military was nowhere near as united and solid as the Resistance.

But if anyone deserved the title of tactical genius, it was someone else.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting."

Gu Zhen's back was to the door, so he recognized the voice before he saw the face.

He turned around and saw a lean young man push the door open and step in.

He was still thin and pale. The second he walked in, almost everyone's eyes were on him.

"General, you're here."

"Good morning, General."

Gu Zhen looked at him. He couldn't quite put his finger on what had changed about Zhu Shinian, but he'd changed a lot.

He looked a little tired and pale, but still glowing with energy. Gu Zhen figured he must have changed for the better.

The Federation's Foreign Minister followed right behind him, but he looked way less composed and at ease than Zhu Shinian.

"Please, sit." Zhu Shinian turned around and said gently and politely to the Federation's Foreign Minister.

"General Gu, have a seat too. You've all traveled a long way—must be tired."

Small talk, pleasantries. Zhu Shinian didn't go out of his way to ignore Gu Zhen either—his tone was warm but distant, no different from how he talked to the Federation's Foreign Minister.

Gu Zhen calmly made small talk with him too.

Both of them sounded perfectly normal, as if all the past romance, fights, love, and hate had never happened at all.

The first day of talks could hardly be called tense. The Resistance and the Empire had just one demand: the Federation needed to pull its troops out and stop trying to profit off the chaos.

And the Federation had only been probing whether the Empire had been badly weakened by its civil war. They'd had peace and stability at home for too long to want to get dragged into the mess of war.

Peace was precious to everyone.

For the Federation, and equally for the Empire and the Resistance Zone.

Gu Zhen showing up in person was also his way of trying to end the war with the Resistance Zone.

Hatred could never really be wiped out, but keeping the war going would only spill more blood.

The Resistance fighters were just like them—ordinary people, flesh and blood.

If the end goal was just for everyone on this land to be born, grow up, and grow old with equal dignity, did it really have to cost... so much blood and tears?

The morning meeting wrapped up quickly. Zhu Shinian politely asked Gu Zhen and the Federation's Foreign Minister to leave through the back to avoid the crowds.

The people of the Resistance Zone would never give the Federation's Foreign Minister a warm welcome, and Gu Zhen was no exception. He had no reason to turn down Zhu Shinian's thoughtfulness, so he followed him down the private passage and out of the building.

When Gu Zhen stepped out of Resistance HQ, he spotted that kid again on the roadside not far off.

The kid was still holding what might or might not have been the same candied hawthorn stick, with five berries left. Thanks to the cold weather, the sugar coating had luckily not melted at all.

A stick of candied hawthorn should have eight berries total.

He'd only eaten three all morning—was it not good? Gu Zhen wondered, puzzled. But if it wasn't good, why not just toss it?

"Daddy!"

Gu Zhen had already crossed the street. Hearing the kid's clear voice, he instinctively turned back.

The kid looked up, saw the person coming out of the building, and happily ran over, jumping into their arms.

"Candied hawthorn—five left! For Daddy to eat!"

Gu Zhen turned to look and saw Zhu Shinian picking the kid up. The kid, who looked so much like him, held the candied hawthorn up to his mouth like it was some kind of treasure.

Zhu Shinian smiled at him. "Didn't your dad take you home? The snow's coming down hard—blowing sideways. Aren't you cold, Tingting?"

"Not cold!" Tingting shook his head hard.

His nose was actually a little red from the cold. Zhu Shinian looked at him worriedly. "Where's your dad? How could he leave you out here alone?"

"Dad went to get hot coffee—at that shop." Tingting raised his hand and pointed at the coffee shop nearby.

"This morning Dad got me a waffle from that shop too—honey flavor. I wanted to save half for you, but Dad said waffles don't taste good once they get cold."

"Daddy doesn't like waffles. As long as Tingting enjoyed them, that's all that matters." Zhu Shinian smiled. "I didn't bring an umbrella either. Let's wait for Dad to come over together."

"Candied hawthorn—Daddy, eat." Tingting stubbornly held the candied hawthorn up to Zhu Shinian's lips.

Tingting was so insistent on having him try it that Zhu Shinian, unable to refuse, gently took a small bite from the skewer Tingting was holding.

A moment later, Jiang Huaiyan walked out of the café.

"Let's go."

The large umbrella he held sheltered both Zhu Shinian and Tingting in his arms completely, as if shutting out the snowfall and the biting cold entirely.

"Daddy, eat," Tingting insisted. "There are still five left—save them all for Daddy!"

"You eat them. Daddy doesn't like these—they're too sour." Zhu Shinian smiled and kissed his soft cheek.

Tingting looked at him with a mix of trust and doubt. In this well-off household, he never had to consider the possibility that Daddy was just saying he didn't like it because he couldn't bear to eat it himself. He simply found it hard to understand how Daddy could not like something that tasted so good.

He hesitated, looking at the candied hawthorn skewer in his hand, as if he really wanted to take a bite, but also really wanted to give it to Daddy.

Zhu Shinian ruffled his hair and was about to explain something to him when he sensed a scorching gaze coming from across the street, landing on him.

His omega gland, bearing the marks of many prior claiming bites, recognized who it was even before he did, and began to tingle with warmth.

This morning... it had been just like this.

The familiar feeling came rushing back all at once. Zhu Shinian froze completely, his body moving almost mechanically as his gaze instinctively shot toward that man.

Gu Zhen wasn't holding an umbrella. The snow, drifting diagonally past the eaves, landed on his eyelashes, as if trying to freeze him solid.

He stared intently at the child in Zhu Shinian's arms—the one calling him "Daddy"—and then at the alpha standing beside them, holding the umbrella over both.

His gaze was so intense that even in the dead of winter, Zhu Shinian felt as though that gaze might burn him.

Was he hurting?

Just as Zhu Shinian's heart had ached back when Gu Zhen stood beside someone else.

If it were anyone else in Zhu Shinian's shoes, they might have felt a smug satisfaction at Gu Zhen's dejection.

But now, that gaze only made Zhu Shinian feel a pang of sadness too.

He looked away, gently nudging Jiang Huaiyan's arm, eager to leave.

But Jiang Huaiyan didn't move.

Prompted by Zhu Shinian's nudge, he seemed to notice the alpha across the street for the first time. He stopped in his tracks and, with a condescending air, shot a provocative look back in Gu Zhen's direction.

"Tingting can just eat them himself," he said, turning back to pinch Tingting's cheek. "If your daddy wants some, I'll buy him another one. Isn't that vendor still there?"

What Father said seemed to make sense. Tingting thought it over seriously—when Father had taken him to buy the skewer this morning, he'd also said he had the wallet, and if he wanted more, they could just buy another one.

Father never seemed to have a sweet tooth; he'd never once seen him crave anything.

Once Tingting had worked it out, he happily took two big bites, polishing off one candied hawthorn, then two more bites to finish a second one.

But Daddy seemed a little flustered. He gently nudged Father's arm again, and when he pulled back, he accidentally brushed against Tingting too.

Then he heard Father's voice, with a hint of amusement: "General Gu, it's been a long time."

Father said "long time no see." Tingting pondered—was that Father's friend?

Then he should greet him. Yes, greet him! Daddy had taught him that—that's what well-mannered kids do.

"Hello, Uncle!" He flashed a sweet smile and waved politely at the man across the street.

Author's Note:

Gu Zhen: Baby, whatever you want to do and whoever you want to be with is up to you. You're your own person. I love you, and I want you to be happy.

I'll kill myself over this.