A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

The air in the entire living room seemed to freeze in that instant.

Zhou Yayun was startled by her husband's sudden and rapid-fire attitude. She subconsciously wanted to speak up to dissuade him, but was stopped by a stern look from Lu Zhenguo.

Little Stone was so frightened by this powerful aura that he let out a "waa" and was about to cry.

However, just a second before he started to cry, Su Nianci reached out her small hand and gently covered his mouth.

"Don't be afraid, your sister is here." She leaned close to her brother's ear and reassured him calmly in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Facing Lu Zhenguo's scrutinizing and suspicious eyes, her dirty little face showed no panic, not even the slightest fear.

She simply stared at him silently.

That look in his eyes was calm, composed, and even... carried a hint of melancholy and understanding that only an adult could decipher.

This composure, so unusual for her age and frighteningly calm, gave Lu Zhenguo's already turbulent heart another jolt!

He felt as if he was dealing with a five-year-old child.

Instead, it was an opponent who was equal to him, and even more mature mentally than him!

"Uncle," Su Nianci finally spoke, her voice clear and steady, "I will answer your questions one by one."

"First, I don't know why this letter was scraped off. It was like this when I snatched it from the brazier that my aunt was going to burn."

"Secondly, I have no idea what was written on the part that was scratched off. I don't know many characters; I only recognize names. I don't recognize any of the others."

"Third," she paused, meeting Lu Zhenguo's increasingly sharp gaze, and said without flinching, "the reason I only called you by your name when you appeared is because I didn't know your name was 'Lu Zhenguo' before."

"I always thought your name was 'Lu Zhenhua'."

"However, the uncle at the door and the uncle who came out later both told me that there was no 'Lu Zhenhua' here. They said I had the wrong person and were going to kick us out."

Her voice carried just the right amount of grievance and lingering fear.

"I have no other choice. I can only wait. I thought, what if... what if my father wrote something wrong in his letter? What if you changed your name? I saw your car come out, and I saw all the stars on your shoulders. I know you must be the highest-ranking official here. I have no choice but to take a gamble!"

"I didn't know what to shout. I was so nervous, my mind went completely blank. Then, I remembered... a name I had seen by chance."

"What's your name?" Lu Zhenguo asked instinctively.

"Zhou Wenxuan," Su Nianci slowly uttered the name. "On my way to Harbin, I met a professor uncle surnamed Zhou. I happened to see his younger brother's military officer's ID card. His younger brother's name is Zhou Wenxuan. I thought to myself, the two brothers have such similar names."

"So when I saw you and heard them all deny 'Lu Zhenhua,' I wondered, could it be... could it be that my father just misspelled a word in his letter?"

"Could it be that you and that 'Uncle Lu Zhenhua' are also brothers? One is named 'Zhenhua,' and the other... is named 'Zhenguo'?"

"I had no other choice at the time, so I could only cling to this guess as my last lifeline and shout it out."

"I think you have a connection with 'Lu Zhenhua'."

"I think you'll react when you hear the name 'Su Weiguo'."

"Luckily... I shouted."

His words were reasonable and justified.

She explained her act of calling out the correct name "Lu Zhenguo" as a sudden inspiration based on the names of the brothers "Zhou Wenqian" and "Zhou Wenxuan," and a desperate gamble.

This explanation perfectly concealed the secret of her "rebirth" while showcasing her "intelligence" and "decisiveness" to the fullest extent, making it both believable and heartbreaking.

Lu Zhenguo and Zhou Yayun were both stunned.

They couldn't imagine that such meticulous logic, such clear expression, and such a thrilling psychological battle could come from the mouth of a five-year-old child who had just experienced a day and a night of hunger and cold!

This is hardly a child.

This is clearly a born... strategist!

"Good...good children..." Zhou Ya Yun could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and hugged Su Nianci and Xiao Shitou tightly, tears streaming down her face like broken beads. "You've suffered so much...you've really suffered so much..."

The warm, maternal embrace finally eased the tension in Su Nianci's nerves.

Her small hand instinctively grabbed the hem of Zhou Ya Yun's clothes.

Looking at the three people embracing and weeping, Lu Zhenguo's resolute face softened.

He turned around, walked to the window, and stood with his back to them, not wanting them to see his equally wet eyes.

He picked up the black-and-white photograph, which had been soaked with the tears of countless people, and gently stroked the image of his carefree brother with his rough, calloused fingers.

"Defend the country, oh defend the country..."

He murmured in a voice only he could hear.

Did you see that?

"Your daughter is far superior to you..."

Don't worry.

"From this day forward, your daughter Nianci and your son Xiaoshitou are my biological children, Lu Zhenguo's children!"

"Anyone who dares to lay a finger on them, I, Lu Zhenguo, will risk my life to make them pay for their crimes in blood!"

Outside the window, the last rays of the setting sun dyed the clouds on the horizon red, and also dyed the back of this iron-willed soldier, as straight as a pine tree.

He knew that from this moment on, his life would be burdened with a heavy responsibility that he had to protect with his life.

He slowly turned around.

His face had regained its usual calm and dignity, but his eyes held an unprecedented tenderness and resolve befitting a father.

"Ya Yun," he said in a deep voice, "Ya Yun, go and make something for the children. Make a bowl of... hot soup noodles."

This was the most extravagant thought he and Su Weiguo had on the battlefield back then.

After each mission where they narrowly escaped death, they would pat each other on the shoulder and say, "When we win, let's go home and have your sister-in-law make us a bowl of hot soup noodles!"

Now, though the person is gone, the vow remains.

He wanted to offer this bowl of noodles to his brother's children.