Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 229 Luckily I Didn't Miss You

That night, after the lights were turned off, Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng chatted under the covers.

Lin Qingping, who had been full of confidence, suddenly began to worry. She grabbed Gu Juncheng's arm and asked, "Do you think Zhiyuan is really not leaving?"

"No." Gu Juncheng was now very confident, the sound of Zhiyuan calling him "Dad" from tonight still echoing in his ears.

Lin Qingping sighed, "It's hard to say. After all, she's his mother, and blood is thicker than water. Besides, what if Zhiyuan thinks the Wen family is well-off? They even have a stepfather from Hong Kong who wears a gold watch, a gold necklace, and gold rings, and is all glittering with gold? What if Zhiyuan gets blinded by the gold? He's still just a child!"

"You're just thinking nonsense!" Gu Juncheng said firmly. "I'm a descendant of soldiers, not some spineless coward with no sense of proportion!"

Before Lin Qingping could say anything more, Gu Juncheng added, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell Zhiyuan everything you've said, and tell him that his mother said he's vain!"

Lin Qingping: ...

"When did I say that?" Lin Qingping pinched his arm hard. "I was just worried!"

"Still talking?" A low, menacing threat came from the darkness.

"Fine, I won't tell you then!" Lin Qingping muttered. "I need to make some preparations..."

"You're just making random preparations!" Gu Juncheng said, but then asked, "What's Granny Xiong?"

Lin Qingping smiled. "It's a story the village elders tell to lull children to sleep. When children don't want to go to sleep, the elders will tell them that Granny Bear comes at night to snatch children, and whoever doesn't sleep will be taken away and eaten. The children are all scared. Didn't your mother tell you stories like this when you were little?"

Gu Juncheng shook his head, seemingly lost in thought in the darkness. "When did you become afraid of the dark? How come I didn't know?"

She's never afraid of the dark!

I've been getting up to work before dawn since I was a child, so how could I be afraid of the dark?

However, since he asked, she didn't mind acting cute a little.

She then wrapped her arms around his, rubbing her forehead against the muscles of his arm. "Yes, especially on thundery nights, when I was little, my grandma always said that it was Granny Bear coming with a drum and a lamp to find the children who wouldn't sleep..."

He listened in silence, then held her tightly in his arms. After a long while, he said, "Lin Qingping, Zhiyuan is right. I'm so sorry. I'm hardly ever by your side all year round. I'm also absent when you're scared. I'm not a good enough person..."

Gu Juncheng was unable to finish speaking before Lin Qingping covered his mouth.

She just wanted to be a little playful, she never expected him to feel so guilty...

That won't do! He's the one who's on a mission; we can't let him worry about us while he's on the front lines!

After letting go, she leaned forward, kissed him, and pinched his cheek. "Silly boy, I was talking about when I was little! Now that you're all grown up, what's there to be afraid of?"

Gu Juncheng's eyes were fixed on her in the darkness, both dark and bright. He suddenly lowered his head and touched her forehead. "Lin Qingping, I should have met you sooner. I should have known you when you were a child."

Lin Qingping chuckled, "So what if you've known me since childhood? Will you still be able to protect me when I'm afraid of the dark?"

"Ah."

A soft sound gently tapped on Lin Qingping's heart, like a gentle raindrop in spring falling into the heart of a lake, spreading shallow ripples, and merging with the temperature of her heart.

“It’s not too late to get to know each other now.” Lin Qingping placed her hand on his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat, in rhythm with his breathing, each beat striking her palm and the deepest part of her heart. “Gu Juncheng, I’m so glad I didn’t miss you.”

Fortunately, God gave me a second chance, allowing me to meet you again.

She felt a sudden tightness as he pulled her into his embrace, pressing her against him as if he wanted to meld her into his body.

"Gu Juncheng, don't worry, I'm very strong. I've said it before, you protect the country, and I'll protect you." Lin Qingping didn't forget what she wanted to say most, "When you're not here, I might do it."

These words may not have put Gu Juncheng at ease; she could feel him holding her even tighter.

So she reached out and tickled his armpits and his waist, but to her surprise, he wasn't ticklish and remained stiff.

Lin Qingping deliberately whined in frustration, "Can't you just pretend and coax me a little?"

This finally made Gu Juncheng laugh. "You were just saying you were so powerful, and now you're as old as Zhiyuan, and I still have to coax you?"

Lin Qingping then said, "Gu Juncheng, of course I am very strong. I can carry dozens of kilograms of weight all over the country by myself. I have the ability to open my shops all over the capital and all over the country. I can also support your whole family from behind. But, in front of you, I can also be a child. I want you to kiss and hug me and lift me up high. I want you to carry honeycomb briquettes. I want you to put up paper-cut window decorations with me. I want to do many, many boring and childish things with you..."

In truth, she was already an old woman who had lived a lifetime in her heart. However, as time passed after her rebirth, her mindset became younger and younger. She felt that she had adapted to life and was now a truly vibrant young woman, especially in front of Gu Juncheng.

As he listened to her speak, he ran his fingers through her long hair, his warm lips tracing her forehead and strands of hair until she finished speaking. He then whispered "okay" and kissed her lips...

After a long pause, he stopped and asked her, "What does 'lift me up high' mean?"

Lin Qingping: ...

So, he just kissed and hugged you, now do you want to be lifted up high?

Lin Qingping whispered an explanation in his ear.

Gu Juncheng: ...

Gu Juncheng didn't say anything, he just continued kissing her.

What happened afterward is unimportant. The saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" has truly been proven true for them every time...

Early the next morning, Gu Juncheng went out for a while. When he returned, Lin Qingping and her second sister had already cut the paper-cut window decorations, and Zhiyuan was writing couplets.

"I'll put them up." Gu Juncheng picked up the paper-cut window decorations, called Lin Qingping over, and the two of them, one putting them up and the other watching, finished putting up all the paper-cut window decorations in the room.

"And there's also my eldest sister's house and my second sister's house. They all need a fresh look for the New Year!" Lin Qingping said, holding a large stack of cut-out paper.

The second sister was originally going to go with her to put up the stickers, but seeing how sticky her older sister and brother-in-law were, she decided against it and stayed home to prepare dinner...

Gu Juncheng took this opportunity to explain to her why the Wen family insisted on having Zhiyuan return; he had gone out for a short while to find out about this.