Descending the stairs, her gaze t Fu Hengyi’s, and he offered her a comforting smile, prompting Shen Qinglan to laugh despite herself.
"Daddy, you ca back today to see , didn’t you?" Shen Qinglan cut to the chase.
Shen Qian smiled. "Qinglan is still as clever as when she was a child. Daddy hasn’t even started talking, and you already know."
Shen Qinglan didn’t say a word, and Shen Qian continued, "As a child, you loved sitting on Daddy’s shoulders the most, asking to run with you on my back, and you said that when you grew up, you wanted to be a soldier like Daddy, protecting our ho and country."
Rembering her childhood, Shen Qinglan was taken aback; in her scant mories, the person she cherished most was actually her father, a towering hero in her heart, formidable and omnipotent.
When did the father in her heart start to fade away? Was it when she was abducted by a human trafficker, waiting day and night for her father to co to her rescue but he never did? Or was it the first ti she was beaten half to death by those people in the organization, barely clinging to life? Or the first ti she picked up a knife and drove it into soone’s heart?
Shen Qinglan remained silent, but her aura grew increasingly frosty.
Shen Qian seed oblivious to his daughter’s turmoil, continuing on his own, "You probably don’t know how overjoyed I was when I found you again, but it didn’t take long for to realize that you seed to dislike soldiers. I was very disappointed at that ti, and I couldn’t help but reminisce about the little girl who hugged my neck and said she wanted to be a great hero like Daddy."
As Shen Qinglan listened to Shen Qian’s reminiscing, her gaze beca sowhat scattered.
"An, we’ve been set up this ti. We are surrounded by the military, and their equipnt is more advanced than ours. Looks like we won’t be able to escape this ti."
"An, I’m already injured, don’t worry about . I will only be a burden to you."
"An, in a mont I’ll go draw their fire, and you take the chance to escape. Without holding you back, you can definitely make it out safely. Once you’re out, you must find the person who plotted against us and avenge ."
"An, hurry, leave. Don’t worry about ."
"An, don’t co back."
Whose hoarse shouts were these, urging her to flee, paving her a path to survival with their blood?
Shen Qinglan’s eyes flickered as if there were stars twinkling before her, stirring up distant mories, and her gaze instantly sharpened.
At that, Shen Qian finally noticed sothing off about his daughter. "Qinglan, what’s wrong?"
Shen Qinglan’s eyes cleared, and the coldness enveloping her vanished in a mont. "Please continue," she said.
Shen Qian looked at her, then resud speaking, "Today, a friend sent a video. I was confused when they asked if the person in it was my daughter, but after I watched it, I knew my daughter was still that kind and brave child."
Shen Qinglan seed to understand the purpose of Shen Qian’s visit today. Her eyes cooled slightly, and she pressed her lips together.
"Qinglan, consider joining the army after graduation. Even though you didn’t graduate from a regular military academy, with your skills, and Daddy’s support, you’ll definitely achieve a lot in the military," said Shen Qian, revealing his intentions for the evening.
Shen Qinglan curled her lips, the arc tainted with mockery, but she kept her head down and didn’t say a word, ice lingering in her eyes.
Her gaze fell upon her own hand, where a ring was worn on the ring finger of her left hand. Her gaze paused, and the ice in her eyes slowly lted.
"I refuse," Shen Qinglan slowly said.
The expected answer ca, Shen Qian was not disappointed, but instead felt a sense of relief at the bottom of his heart. Before he ca back, he had anticipated the outco. If it hadn’t been for the leader in his unit asking him to serve as a persuadee and not to miss out on such a good prospect, he probably wouldn’t even have brought it up with Shen Qinglan.
He smiled faintly, patting Shen Qinglan’s shoulder, "Daddy’s suggestion is sothing you can consider carefully, if you really don’t like it that much, Daddy won’t force you."
His face was entirely different from the one persuading just a mont ago, which caught Shen Qinglan by surprise. She had thought Shen Qian would surely try to convince her to join the military.
Shen Qian noticed the expression on Shen Qinglan’s face and smiled warmly, "Actually, it was one of Daddy’s comrades-in-arms who saw that video and took an interest in you. He hoped you would enlist, which is why Daddy ca to do the persuading." He was quite frank. Having failed to persuade her, he outright sold out his teammate, especially since he had already detected a mont of distance from Shen Qinglan after he revealed his purpose.
Since her return, his daughter wasn’t very close to him as a father, and if their relationship worsened because of this, he really would have nowhere to cry.
"Qinglan, putting aside my identity as a soldier and standing from a father’s perspective, no matter what choice you make, Daddy will support you." It wasn’t just because of his wife’s last wishes before she passed away, but also because of his guilt as a father. Their last conversation hadn’t left Shen Qinglan with pleasant mories.
Looking at Shen Qian, Shen Qinglan was at a loss for words, but the chill at the bottom of her eyes was quietly replaced by emotions she couldn’t quite explain or articulate.
"Actually, Daddy is quite happy about making this trip. There’s been a lot to deal with in the military recently, and Daddy hasn’t had the ti to co ho. Today, I got the rare opportunity to have dinner with you all, thanks to you." Shen Qian laughed.
Shen Qinglan smiled faintly, pondering whether her previous view of this father was sowhat biased?
Seeing Fu Hengyi approaching from across the way, Shen Qian smiled, "You can’t bear to be away from your wife for even a little while, can you?"
Fu Hengyi laughed too, "Grandpa said he was tired, so I wanted to take him back first. I ca to let Qinglan know, and I’ll be back to pick her up later."
Shen Qinglan thought for a mont, "I’ll go with you."
Fu Hengyi glanced at Shen Qian, who waved them off, and the young couple departed.
Fu Hengyi still held Shen Qinglan’s hand, "Why is your hand still so cold?" Feeling the icy temperature of Shen Qinglan’s hand, Fu Hengyi furrowed his brow and stuffed her hand into the pocket of his coat.
Shen Qian watched his daughter stand beside Fu Hengyi, exuding warmth, and he smiled contentedly.
**
Shen Junyu and Han Yi, with Yu Xiaoxuan in tow, left the bar. "Where do you live? I’ll take you ho," Shen Junyu said, seeing the slightly drunk Yu Xiaoxuan.
Before Yu Xiaoxuan could speak, Han Yi interjected, "I know where she lives. I’ll take her, you go on ahead."
"I don’t want to be escorted by you, you corpse demon; I want the male god." As soon as Yu Xiaoxuan heard Han Yi’s words, she instantly bristled.
Han Yi gritted his teeth, "You brat, who are you calling a corpse demon?"
"I’m talking about you, corpse demon, you lecher, you jerk," Yu Xiaoxuan shot back instantly. Despite being obviously drunk, her mouth didn’t stop for a second.
Han Yi’s eyes flashed dangerously; he truly wanted to strangle this brat.
Shen Junyu frowned and spoke up, "I’ll take her ho, just give the address." He was genuinely worried that these two would start fighting, even though Han Yi never hit won.
Han Yi’s voice sounded like it was squeezed out through clenched teeth, "No need, I’ll take her. I refuse to believe I can’t handle this brat."
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