Chapter 183: There Is Fatherly Love, But Not Much

It wasn't yet light when Gu Gu Chenghuai opened his eyes. He'd slept less than four hours, yet his spirit was sharp; his deep, dark eyes were clear and free of fatigue.

He gently moved his wife's arm off his firm waist and abdomen, his gaze settling on Lin Zhao.

She wore a strapless nightdress, her arms bare and pale, slender as early spring willow branches. Her face was flushed from sleep—a beautiful picture of slumber—as if sensing movement, her long lashes trembled slightly and her brows furrowed.

Gu Gu Chenghuai's towering frame seemed frozen; his breath softened.

Seeing his wife drift back to sleep, his taut nerves relaxed. He gazed at her with lingering tenderness, watching her for a long while, his fingers hovering gently over her delicate cheek before he rose carefully.

He had just stepped off the bed.

The person on the bed suddenly opened her eyes, sat up, and slowly shuffled to the edge, wrapping her arms around the man's waist.

"Caught you," came her hoarse voice, tinged with triumph. Lin Zhao didn't open her eyes, rubbing her face against her husband's waist and murmuring discontentedly, "I knew you wanted to leave me behind!"

"You promised to see me off! Annoying, annoying!"

Gu Gu Chenghuai didn't move, lowering his head to look tenderly at the top of her head, his heart softening.

"It's too much trouble. I know the way. Aren't you tired? Go back to sleep."

Lin Zhao shook her head. "No. I'm seeing you off."

She sighed slightly. "It's been so long since I saw you off. I want to go."

The last time she'd seen him off was when they were still dating.

Gu Gu Chenghuai took his wife's hand, his eyes deepening with reluctance.

"Zhaozhao…"

Lin Zhao lifted her head, her eyes bright and alert, not the least bit tired. "Don't you dare say sorry. I won't listen."

"There are so many people at home—I don't feel tired. You haven't wronged me. You've given me and the children a good life. You're a good husband and a good father."

Her slender, jade-like fingers poked gently at the man's firm chest.

Her expression was earnest. "I have only one request: no matter what, protect yourself. Remember—I and the children are waiting for you to come home."

Gu Gu Chenghuai pulled Lin Zhao into his arms, burying his face in her neck, his voice hoarse and unusually childlike: "... I don't want to go."

Lin Zhao hugged him back, teasing, "If you don't go work hard, where will the TV come from? Where will the three sons' dowries for marriage come from? Where will Seeing Yaobao's dowry come from?"

"If you don't strive when you're young, when will you?"

A flicker of reluctance passed through her eyes. "Our lives are long. We'll be together again, sooner or later."

Gu Gu Chenghuai was comforted. He released her, bent down, kissed her cheek, then her lips—and even gave them a lingering suck.

"Write to me often," he reminded again.

Knowing he'd be back in the unit and wouldn't always have control over his time, he added, "I'll write back whenever I get a chance."

With her husband leaving so soon, Lin Zhao didn't even mind that he hadn't brushed his teeth before kissing her. She smiled warmly. "Fine. I'll write. One letter every half month."

Isn't that frequent enough?

Gu Gu Chenghuai's lips curled slightly. He feigned indifference. "Hmm."

Such a big prideful jerk.

Lin Zhao spotted the small red string on Gu Gu Chenghuai's right wrist, tugged it gently, and said casually, "Wear this properly. Don't take it off. If it ever disappears, write and tell me—I'll get you a new one."

A smile spread across Gu Gu Chenghuai's eyes and brows.

"I'll listen to you."

Zhaozhao loved him too much. A well-educated girl who'd finished high school, now turning superstitious—all because she worried too much.

He couldn't take it anymore. His heart was sweet to the point of ache.

He'd wear it. Definitely.

Even just to put his wife's mind at ease, he'd wear it every single day.

The couple stepped out of the room. It was barely four o'clock; the outside was still dim.

As they washed up, the children's room lit up. Xiang Yubao stood on a small wooden ladder, shaking his younger brother on the top bunk.

"Hengbao, wake up. Mom and Dad are up. Let's hurry, or we'll be late." To avoid waking the twins, his voice was hushed, almost a whisper.

Hengbao shot open his eyes. Seeing his brother already dressed, he hurriedly said, "Wait for me—I'll be quick."

He sat up, grabbed the neatly folded clothes beside his pillow, and dressed swiftly.

In a few quick motions, he slid down the slide.

He slipped on his white shoes, tied the laces carefully, and stepped out the door with his brother.

"Why are you up so early?" Lin Zhao and Gu Gu Chenghuai exchanged glances—they hadn't planned to bring the children.

Xiang Yubao's cowlick stuck up, his clothes neatly arranged, his white shoes spotless, his handsome face smiling sweetly. "We're seeing Dad off."

Hengbao, sharp-eyed, studied his parents suspiciously. "Did you forget me and my brother?"

Was that even a question?

Xiang Yubao frowned at his brother, his mind twisting into knots. If Hengbao said it aloud, and his parents truly didn't plan to take them—what then?

He looked anxiously at his parents.

Lin Zhao naturally denied it. "Of course not. We just got up—we were about to wash our faces and wake you."

"Fine." Hengbao climbed onto a stool, washed his face, and muttered, "Don't try to fool kids."

Lin Zhao smoothed down his messy hair and laughed. "You know what 'fool' means now?"

"What's so strange?" Hengbao grinned smugly. "I know lots of things. Uncle Xiao gives me and my brother lessons—I listen super carefully."

Xiang Yubao stared at his brother's face, trying to see through his thick skin.

Hearing Erzai's skin was so thick.

Among all the kids in class, he was the most restless.

"Your uncle cares about you two. Invite him and Lizhao over for dinner this afternoon," Lin Zhao said.

"Okay!" Xiang Yubao replied happily. "Uncle's gotten so thin."

After speaking, he brushed his teeth with full concentration.

"Are you hungry?" Lin Zhao asked the two boys before returning to the room.

The twins, toothbrushes still in their mouths, shook their heads together.

Not hungry.

"Then let's go straight. If you get hungry, we'll stop."

Lin Zhao returned to the room, applied her skincare, tied her braid, and picked up her small crossbody bag before stepping out.

The luggage had been packed the night before. Gu Gu Chenghuai carried the green suitcase and followed his wife out of the room.

The twins also slung their bags over their shoulders and waited quietly in the courtyard.

Seeing the suitcase in Gu Gu Chenghuai's hand, the two children slowly realized: their father was returning to the unit.

The brothers froze in place.

Hengbao was the first to react. "Dad, when will you come back?"

Gu Gu Chenghuai said, "I'll come back when I get leave."

"What if I miss you?" Hengbao asked, voice heavy with sadness.

Gu Gu Chenghuai's eyes softened. He ruffled his son's hair. "I'll write to you."

"You're learning to read now—you can write to me too. If there's an emergency, call me. You've called before—you know how, right?"

Mentioning phone calls eased the boys' gloom.

Xiang Yubao's small face grew serious. "Dad, you have to write often. We'll miss you."

Gu Gu Chenghuai answered seriously, without dismissing his young sons. "I will."

Even if he didn't think much about the children, he'd never forget Zhaozhao—his wife, the woman he'd worked so hard to marry.

Hengbao held out his palm upward. "Dad, give me five big bills."

Gu Gu Chenghuai: "..."

Do I look like five big bills?

He did have money—over a hundred yuan, given to him by his wife for emergencies. He planned to use it to buy Zhaozhao a gift. What did anyone else have to do with it?

Gu *Anyone Else* Hengbao: "?"

"Do I look like five big bills?" Gu Gu Chenghuai glared at him. The little bit of paternal affection vanished instantly.

Hengbao's face was full of question marks. "No, you don't. Why are you asking that? You're weird."

Realizing his father was dodging, Hengbao puffed up. "Don't change the subject. I want five big bills."

He opened his right palm. "Five."

"No," Gu Gu Chenghuai ignored him.

Five bills? Do you even know how much five big bills are? How dare you ask? You've been spoiled.

"How come you don't even have five big bills?" Hengbao's tiny voice sounded wounded.

"If we don't have money, how do we buy stamps? How do we make calls? It's been so long—why haven't you saved any money yet..." He sighed, exasperated.

"Everyone in the village says you're a rich man. Turns out you don't even have money!" Hengbao's big eyes filled with disbelief, as if his entire savings had been stolen.

Gu Gu Chenghuai thought he was used to it—until he realized he still had no idea what children's minds were full of.

Seeing his father silent, Hengbao gave up and turned to Lin Zhao, eyes anxious. "Mom, can we still afford to eat?"

"Of course we can," Lin Zhao couldn't help laughing. "Don't worry. Not only can we eat—we can eat meat too. Your father's money is all with me. If you ask him for money, you won't get any."

She remembered she'd said this before. Hearing Erzai pulling this again—probably influenced by the villagers.

Sure enough.

The little boy said, "The villagers say the boss is always the man."

Worried Lin Zhao didn't know what "boss" meant, he added, "The boss is the one who controls the money."

Xiang Yubao added: "Still call him head of the household."

Kids love to mix into crowds; they're easily influenced.

She knew it was something they'd picked up outside. Lin Zhao admitted: "I'm the head of this household."

"It's an old Gu family tradition. Look at the ancestral home—doesn't your grandma manage the accounts?"

"Yes." Hengbao nodded.

He went on: "In Hearing Changsheng's family, it's his father who manages the accounts; his mother only does chores."

Hearing Changsheng's mother just didn't understand her place—she used up all her husband's trust, so they took away her household authority.

"... Every family's different." Lin Zhao patted both boys' heads.

"Don't worry—we have money for phone calls. If you want to talk to your dad, just tell me, and I'll take you to town to make the call."

Hengbao grinned happily and stopped demanding to see the whole family together.

"Alright."

Lin Zhao saw her two sons in short sleeves and said: "It's cold in the morning. Put on your little jackets."

The two boys were well-behaved—they ran back inside, took their jackets from the floor-standing coat rack, slipped out of the room quietly, and closed the door with care, afraid of waking their younger siblings.

If Seeing Song Qian Bao or Seeing Yaobao demanded to come, Mom and Dad would find it too much trouble and leave them behind—no way were they going to be left out.

The family of four stepped out into the dark. With Lin Lin Xuan and Lin Zheng as sisters at home, plus fierce and clever Seeing Da Huang, there was no need to overly worry about the safety of the twins.

Though Xiang Yubao and Hengbao had risen early, their energy was boundless—they ran and jumped, never tired.

The two boys dashed ahead, then stopped to wait for their parents, smiling brightly, looking cheerful and endearing.

"Slow down," Lin Zhao told the two boys.

Xiang Yubao's childlike voice rang clear: "I'm watching the road. It's the first time we've traveled this early—so strange."

Hengbao covered his mouth and laughed: "Mom's never woken up this early before."

Lin Zhao: "..."

Lin Zhao looked at Hengbao's grinning face. "You've still been beaten too little."

"I heard school's about to resume. When classes restart, I'll enroll you two."

Xiang Yubao's eyes lit up. "Really? I'll study hard."

Gu Xingye and the others said school's so fun—he really wanted to go.

Hengbao thought of homework and scrunched his little eyebrows into a knot. Hearing his brother's words, he added: "I'll study hard too."

But his little shoulders slumped anyway.

Lin Zhao pumped them up: "I believe in you. You're the older brothers—you'll set a good example for your younger siblings."

These kids, under six, were easy to persuade—they immediately patted their tiny chests. "We will, we will."

Their faces glowed with anticipation for the day school began.

They could go to school with Gu Xingye and the others—once in school, they'd be big kids, and they'd get to eat more meat and rice.

Thinking this, their identical eyes sparkled.

These two boys were born from Lin Zhao—she knew exactly what they were scheming by the way they stuck out their little bottoms.

Her eyes were full of amusement.

Noticing Gu Gu Chenghuai watching her, she whispered over her shoulder, carrying the twins: "Once they start school, it'll be harder to fool them—we'll have to teach them bit by bit."

Didn't they gradually develop the habit of recognizing and writing characters on their own?

If you wait until they're fully mature to start teaching... they might not listen anymore.

Gu Gu Chenghuai's gaze was gentle. "You've gone to so much trouble."

"It's nothing. Our kids are all obedient—they're easy to raise," Lin Zhao said sincerely.

Her own father said she was hard to raise as a child—clever little brain, endless arguments, loved to bargain with adults, sly as a monkey.

The family chatted and laughed, walking from pitch black to dawn's first light, finally arriving at the train station.

This time, the twins' spirits were noticeably lower than last time—they stayed quiet beside Gu Gu Chenghuai, glancing at him now and then, making the six-foot-tall iron-blooded man's heart ache.

"Xiang Yubao, I remember you wanted an airplane. When I return to the unit, I'll send you a model." Gu Gu Chenghuai looked at his eldest son and promised.

Hengbao stared at his father with wide, pleading eyes, silently screaming: "What about mine? What about mine?"

Gu Gu Chenghuai continued: "Hengbao gets one too—I'll send you a big vehicle model."

The two boys smiled, their sadness over their father's departure slightly eased.

"Dad, I'll miss you. You have to miss us too," Xiang Yubao said seriously.

"Alright," Gu Gu Chenghuai agreed.

Of course he'd miss his little family. More accurately—he'd already started missing them before he even left.

"Diiiiii—"

The train whistled.

People carrying heavy bags surged onto the train; the crowd wasn't large, so the platform wasn't crowded.

"... Get on," Lin Zhao said to Gu Gu Chenghuai, her heart heavy but accustomed to this—"Send a telegram when you arrive."

Gu Gu Chenghuai set down his luggage and stepped forward to embrace his wife and children.

Seeing so many people boarding, hearing others cry nearby, the twins were emotionally overwhelmed—they clung to their father's legs and burst into tears.

"Dad..."

"Dad, I don't want you to go, waaah..."

After living together so long, it was natural the children didn't want him to leave.

Hearing their sobs, Gu Gu Chenghuai's eyes grew damp, his throat choked.

He'd always felt reluctant to leave—but never as painfully as today.

He wouldn't let his wife and children see him off again—his heart felt like it would explode.

Station staff urged those still not aboard.

"Hurry up and get on if you haven't yet."

Hearing this, Lin Zhao gripped the twins' small shoulders and pulled them back. "Go on. Don't delay your departure."

Gu Gu Chenghuai took one last long look at his family, saluted them, picked up his luggage, and boarded without turning back.

"Dad!" the twins cried out.

They tried to rush forward, but Lin Zhao held them back.

"Dangerous," Lin Zhao restrained the two overexcited boys. "Don't act up. I'll take you to the unit to visit your dad when the chance comes."

The twins stopped moving, looking up. "Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

The two boys thought for a moment—no, she hadn't. Hope stirred in their hearts. They wiped their tears and stared intently, searching the train for Gu Gu Chenghuai's figure.

"Dad! Dad's there!" Xiang Yubao spotted him first, in one of the train cars.

Lin Zhao led the children over and looked through the window at the man.

"Dad, Mom said she'll take us to the unit to see you," Hengbao called out loudly.

Gu Gu Chenghuai patted his head. "Good. I'll wait for you. Listen to your mom. Don't make her angry—if you do, when I come back, I'll spank you. The pants-down kind."

He said the harshest words in the gentlest tone.

Hengbao shouted back loudly: "I won't ever make Mom angry—I'm the best-behaved kid!"

Time was short. Gu Gu Chenghuai ignored the second son and turned to Xiang Yubao: "Xiang Yubao, you're the most level-headed. Help your mom take care of your younger siblings."

Xiang Yubao stiffened his small face and nodded firmly. "Mm-hmm."

At that moment, several people hurried over.

The lead elderly woman shouted: "Don't rush—someone hasn't boarded yet..."

The voice sounded familiar.

Lin Zhao turned— it was the Lu family.

They were on this train too.

Without thinking, she glanced at Gu Gu Chenghuai—saw the tight furrow in his brow.