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

The next morning, when Lu Nianci led her younger brother Lu Xiaoshi into the restaurant, they were not greeted by Zhou Yayun's warm smile and a fragrant breakfast, but by a chilling aura that could almost freeze a person.

The source of the chill was the man who should have been "reflecting" in the truck—Lu Xingzhou.

He was sitting upright in the main seat of the octagonal table.

His spotless new military uniform accentuated his tall and upright figure, making him appear even more dashing.

His hair was clearly freshly washed, still slightly damp.

The bluish stubble on his chin had been completely shaved off.

He looked refreshed, but also increasingly cold and intimidating.

He was like an ancient iceberg airlifted from the far north, radiating a powerful aura that kept strangers at bay.

Zhou Yayun was wearing an apron and bustling back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room.

Although her face still showed a hint of dissatisfaction with her son, the joy and heartache in her eyes were impossible to hide.

Lu Zhenguo sat opposite Lu Xingzhou, holding a copy of the day's People's Liberation Army Daily, pretending to be reading it attentively.

But the occasional scrutinizing and warning glances he cast at his son from above the newspaper betrayed his feigned calm.

Clearly, last night's family turmoil has temporarily come to an end with Lu Xingzhou's initiative to "admit his mistake" and Lu Zhenguo's "magnanimity."

"Nianci, Xiaoshi, come quickly, wash your hands and eat!"

Zhou Yayun walked out of the kitchen carrying two steaming bowls of millet porridge.

When she saw the two children, her face immediately lit up with a loving smile.

"This morning, Mom steamed your favorite milk-flavored steamed buns!"

"Thank you, Mom!" Lu Nianci replied sweetly.

Then, she took her younger brother's hand and walked to the edge of the pool. She stood on tiptoe and carefully washed her little hands.

Throughout the entire process, she kept her eyes straight ahead, as if the mobile "cooling machine" sitting at the dining table didn't exist at all.

After washing her hands, she led her younger brother to the dining table.

Instead of sitting in the seat closest to Lu Zhenguo, she pulled her younger brother to sit in the corner furthest from Lu Xingzhou.

Then, she picked up a plump, white, milky-scented steamed bun that was bigger than her face, broke it in half, and put it in her younger brother's bowl.

She picked up the spoon again, scooped up a spoonful of millet porridge, blew on it, and carefully fed it to her younger brother.

"Little Stone, ah, open your mouth."

Seeing that gentle and considerate older sister demeanor, Zhou Ya Yun felt a pang of tenderness in her heart.

Lu Zhenguo looked up from behind the newspaper and glanced at his icy son, who had remained silent the entire time, with a meaningful look.

That look seemed to say: Look! Look at them! And look at you!

Lu Xingzhou naturally felt the "pressure" coming from all directions.

He put down his chopsticks.

Then he raised his head and cast his cold, probing gaze once again at the little girl who was intently feeding her younger brother.

"cough."

He coughed softly.

The sound wasn't loud, but it successfully attracted everyone's attention.

Lu Nianci paused in her feeding motion.

She looked up at Lu Xingzhou, her clear eyes holding just the right amount of doubt and... wariness.

It was as if a fawn, which was eating, suddenly heard the sound of hunters' footsteps in the distance.

"I heard," Lu Xingzhou's lips curled into a half-smile, "that you were quite the big shot at school?"

His voice was flat, making it impossible to tell whether it was praise or criticism.

But Lu Nianci detected an undisguised provocation in that calm tone.

coming.

The Feast at Hongmen has begun.

However, her face showed an expression of flattery and fear.

She quickly lowered her head and whispered, "No...no. Brother, who told you that nonsense?"

Her timid and cowardly demeanor was completely different from the legendary "big sister" who had the king of children under her thumb.

"Oh? Is that so?" Lu Xingzhou raised an eyebrow.

"How come I heard that on your very first day at school, you taught that little tyrant from Commander Li's family a lesson?"

"And the whole class respectfully calls you... 'Teacher Lu'?"

His words were sarcastic and ironic.

This made Lu Zhenguo, who was standing to the side, frown again.

"Lu Xingzhou! How can you talk to your sister like that?!" He couldn't help but scold him.

"Dad, I didn't mean anything by it." Lu Xingzhou shrugged, looking completely innocent. "I was just curious."

"I just want to know how our little genius managed to win over that group of fearless young soldiers in such a short time."

"After all," he glanced meaningfully at Lu Nianci, "when I was their age, I was chased and beaten up every day."

This is a blatant test!

He was forcing her to tell those "unreasonable" heroic deeds!

Then seize upon the loopholes in her words and launch a relentless attack!

What a clever trick to lure the snake out of its hole!

Lu Nianci instantly understood. She looked up at Lu Xingzhou's eyes, which were full of mockery and scrutiny.

She didn't panic or try to explain herself as he had expected.

Instead, he suddenly broke into a smile.

That smile was pure and radiant, like a rainbow after the rain.

"Brother, you're so stupid."

She spoke in a tone full of childlike innocence and pride.

Lu Xingzhou was stunned.

He didn't expect her to say that so suddenly.

"What did you say?" His brows furrowed instantly.

"I'm telling you, you're stupid." Lu Nianci tilted her head, counted on her fingers, and analyzed it to him in a serious manner.

Why are Li Hao and the others afraid of me?

"First, because I'm smarter than them."

"I can solve math problems that none of them can."

"I can even play chess that Uncle Gao praised."

"They admire me from the bottom of their hearts."

"Secondly," she held up her second slender, white finger, "because I'm 'better' than them."

She deliberately emphasized the word "amazing".

Then, she picked up the brand-new tin pencil case that Li Hao had given her from the table, and in front of everyone, she used her seemingly weak and powerless little hands.

With a "creak"!

With ease, I bent the hard tin pencil case into a twisted shape!

"hiss--"

A collective gasp filled the restaurant.

Zhou Yayun was so shocked that she covered her mouth.

Lu Zhenguo was so shocked that he dropped the newspaper in his hand to the ground.

For the first time, a crack appeared in Lu Xingzhou's icy eyes, which had remained unchanged for millennia!

He stared intently at Lu Nianci's slender wrist.

He couldn't imagine how such a frail body could unleash such terrifying power!

This...this is not scientific!

"Because my dad was a war hero!"

Lu Nianci threw away the pencil case that had turned into a pile of scrap metal, clapped her hands, and showed an expression of immense pride and self-satisfaction.

"He taught me from a young age that we, the descendants of soldiers, must not only have intelligent minds, but also strong bodies!"

"That's why I make sure to exercise every day!"

"Look!"

As she spoke, she even bent her arm in a serious manner and puffed out her non-existent "biceps".

That innocent and carefree little face instantly washed away the unease brought about by the terrifying scene just now.

She perfectly explained the biggest "unconventional" aspect of herself with the simplest, most direct, and most irrefutable reason—"heroic genes" and "hard work."

He completely shut down all the questions that Lu Xingzhou was about to blurt out!

Pretty!

Lu Xingzhou silently cheered for her!

This little girl is so smart!

Every counterattack she made was unexpected yet reasonable, leaving him unable to find a single flaw in her defense.

"Alright, alright, let's eat." Lu Zhenguo was the first to recover from his shock.

Looking at his daughter's proud little face, he felt both amused and annoyed, but mostly proud.

As expected of Lu Zhenguo's daughter!

That fearless and domineering spirit is practically a carbon copy of his!

A silent battle at the dinner table ended with Lu Nianci's complete victory.

Lu Xingzhou didn't want to make a fool of himself.

He silently finished the porridge in his bowl, then stood up and prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?" Lu Zhenguo asked.

"Go back to the unit to cancel your leave," Lu Xingzhou replied coldly.

"So soon?" Zhou Yayun asked, somewhat reluctantly. "Can't you stay home for a couple more days?"

"No, thank you." Lu Xingzhou shook his head. "The mission isn't over yet."

He walked to the door and put on his mud-covered military boots.

Just as he was about to push open the door and leave, Lu Nianci, who had been quietly eating in the corner, suddenly spoke up.

"elder brother."

Her voice was very soft and gentle.

Lu Xingzhou stopped, turned around, and looked at her with a questioning gaze.

Lu Nianci jumped down from her little chair.

She ran to Zhou Yayun's side and took out something neatly wrapped in a handkerchief from her mother's apron pocket.

Then, she ran up to Lu Xingzhou with her short legs, stood on tiptoe, and held that thing high.

"Brother, this is for you."

Her face wore a sincere and radiant smile.

There wasn't a trace of the hostility from their earlier confrontation in that smile; it was simply a younger sister's purest concern for her older brother.

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment.

He looked down at the handkerchief pouch in her hand, which had a faint milky scent.

He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took it.

He opened the handkerchief.

Inside, two steaming, fragrant steamed buns lay quietly.

"Brother, you're going on a mission, it must be very hard for you, right?"

Lu Nianci raised her head and stared at him intently with her large, clear eyes, as black as grapes.

"Eat it if you get hungry on the way."

"If you eat our family's big steamed buns, you'll have the strength to fight bad guys."

Her voice was soft and sweet.

Her eyes were crystal clear.

It was as if the "female warrior" who had just bent a tin pencil case with her bare hands was not her at all.

It was as if the "little fox" who had been arguing with him at the dinner table wasn't her at all.

At this moment, she was just an ordinary little sister who cared about her brother who was about to leave on a long journey.

Lu Xingzhou's heart was struck hard by this sudden warmth.

He looked at the two large steamed buns in his palm, still warm from her body, and then at the little girl in front of him, smiling innocently at him.

For the first time, his heart, harder than an iceberg, showed a slight... loosening that even he himself couldn't understand.

Could it be... that he was really wrong?

At that moment when he was in a daze.

A sudden, urgent phone call rang throughout the living room!

"Ring ring! Ring ring!"

Lu Zhenguo quickly walked over and answered the phone.

"Feed? I'm Lu Zhenguo."

I don't know what they said on the other end of the phone.

Lu Zhenguo's face, which had just relaxed, instantly became extremely solemn!

He suddenly raised his head and looked out at the azure sky.

His voice became somewhat incoherent due to extreme shock.

"What?!"

"A... a private jet?!"