Rumours and Dragon-Phoenix Twins’ Birthday Part 3
Lu Zetian rushed to the meeting room just as the meeting ended.
Regiment Commander Le, who had just walked out, saw him and asked, “What did you borrow the car for? We couldn’t even find you for the meeting.”
Before Lu Zetian could answer, the political commissar called from inside, “Xiao Lu is back? Come in quickly.”
“Yes!” Lu Zetian answered loudly. He nodded to Regiment Commander Le and used the opportunity not to explain, walking past him into the meeting room.
Regiment Commander Le stared at the closed door, his expression turning unpleasant.
What kind of attitude was that? Even if they were the same rank, he was still the senior, wasn’t he? Did he have to be so perfunctory and cold?
He had only become a regiment commander in his forties, while Lu Zetian had risen to the position in his twenties. No one in the army didn’t envy him. But Lu Zetian truly had ability, so envy aside, everyone was still convinced.
But Regiment Commander Le just felt uncomfortable. Wasn’t he only good with machinery and technology? Why did the higher-ups value him so much?
In other areas, who wasn’t skilled? When he carried out missions, he had never backed down either! He had always completed them beautifully.
Did attending university and understanding technology mean someone was capable?
Regiment Commander Le sighed and left, thinking that he really couldn’t understand or learn those things. It wasn’t that he didn’t work hard.
How depressing.
When he went to the canteen for lunch, Regiment Commander Le heard that after Lu Zetian returned and received the message, he hadn’t come directly to the army, but had sent his wife and children home first. He immediately frowned.
“There’s a problem with his attitude. Doesn’t he know official matters come first?”
The people chatting beside him quickly shut their mouths. They exchanged glances, said nothing more, quickly finished eating, and slipped away.
Then somehow, the matter spread. It became a rumour that Regiment Commander Le had criticised Lu Zetian for having an improper attitude, and that Lu Zetian was using public resources for private purposes.
That afternoon, the words reached Political Commissar Zheng’s ears, so during a small meeting, he asked Lu Zetian in front of everyone what had happened.
Regiment Commander Le, sitting beside Lu Zetian, was stunned. He hadn’t expected something he casually said to be spread so ridiculously.
“Today is the twins’ birthday. Qin Shi and I took the children to the county town for a walk. This was their first time going there. I was afraid they’d be squeezed on the bus, so I applied to borrow the car,” Lu Zetian explained calmly. “Halfway back, Qin Shi felt unwell, so I took them home first before rushing over.”
The logistics director nodded. “I approved the vehicle request yesterday afternoon.”
“Official matters are important, but family is important too,” Political Commissar Zheng looked at Regiment Commander Le. “Today was originally Lu Zetian’s day off. Even if he hadn’t come, we couldn’t have said anything. But he still came, didn’t he? He does take official matters seriously.”
Lu Zetian was famously hardworking. He rarely took leave, working every day. Everyone in the army knew that. He had only taken leave once, and was even called in halfway through. Regiment Commander Le’s words were a bit harsh.
Regiment Commander Le grew anxious. “I didn’t mean anything else. I only said official matters should come first. I don’t know how it got spread like this. I didn’t criticise him!”
Political Commissar Zheng waved his hand. “Alright. Be more careful in the future.”
He knew Regiment Commander Le had some opinions about Lu Zetian, but he wasn’t malicious. He was just too rigid, stubborn, and one-track-minded.
He wasn’t trying to blame anyone now, only reminding Regiment Commander Le not to speak carelessly in the future. He shouldn’t say everything outside without thinking.
Political Commissar Zheng knew Regiment Commander Le had no bad intentions, but others might think he had a problem with Lu Zetian. They were all comrades. Harmonious relations were best; messy rumours would have a bad impact.
Regiment Commander Le wanted to say more, but seeing Political Commissar Zheng begin discussing serious matters, he could only respond and swallow his words.
After the meeting, Regiment Commander Le followed Lu Zetian and apologized.
“I didn’t know you were on leave today. That’s why I said that one sentence. Sorry. I really didn’t mean anything else. They spread it randomly.”
Lu Zetian nodded. “I know. I didn’t take it to heart.”
Regiment Commander Le wanted to say more, but Lu Zetian smiled apologetically. “The children are still waiting for me at home to celebrate their birthday, so I’ll leave first. See you later.”
With that, he strode away.
Regiment Commander Le sighed deeply and went home with his hands behind his back.
When he got home, his wife saw that he was in a bad mood and asked what had happened. Regiment Commander Le told her the matter. Her expression also turned ugly.
“Who spread nonsense like that? Loose-tongued gossipers!”
Regiment Commander Le was already annoyed and didn’t want to listen to her ramble, so he turned and went to wash up.
His wife became upset because of his attitude. She sat on the sofa alone, slamming things around, silently hating those loose-mouthed people.
…
Unlike them, when Lu Zetian returned home, he saw the children all gathered around the oven in the courtyard, squatting in a row and staring at something.
Lu Zetian pushed open the gate and walked in. The children only turned to glance at him, called “Dad,” then continued staring fixedly at the oven.
Their perfunctory reaction made Lu Zetian laugh. “What are you looking at?”
An’an immediately answered, “Mom is baking milk egg cake. We’re helping keep track of the time.”
Lu Zetian raised his brow. No wonder the air was filled with such a sweet fragrance. So she was baking cake.
“Your mom asked me to build this oven ages ago. After it was built, she only used it to bake sweet potatoes and potatoes. So this was its real purpose.”
Hearing this, the three children turned to look at Lu Zetian, then at the kitchen. The twins smiled like blooming flowers, obviously very happy.
Gu Qinghai felt a little disappointed. His birthday had long passed. Qin Shi hadn’t arrived at that time. What a pity…
“Be careful not to burn yourselves,” Lu Zetian reminded them, then went inside to wash up and change.
He had just finished changing when he heard the children scream, chattering excitedly. When he opened the door and stepped out, he smelled the sweet, tempting aroma in the air and couldn’t help smiling.
Everyone in their family liked sweet things. The cake’s fragrance was too powerful, and the children were overjoyed.
Qin Shi used a thick cloth to take out the cake pan and placed it on the dining table, planning to let it cool before removing it from the mould. But the children were all staring eagerly, so greedy they could hardly bear it. Qin Shi called Lu Zetian over to help.
“Turn this upside down and knock the cake out. Be careful not to break it.”
Lu Zetian nodded and came over. With only one cloth underneath, he began moving.
Seeing him use only one cloth, Qin Shi sighed inwardly. As expected, he really had iron hands. He wasn’t afraid of heat at all.
Useful!
Lu Zetian quickly knocked the cake out. It landed on the chopping board with a “duang” and even bounced twice.
“Wow—” the twins cried out in amazement. Gu Qinghai’s eyes also widened.
Aside from the slightly caramelised surface, the rest was golden yellow and not burnt.
Qin Shi pressed the cake with her hand. It was soft, fluffy, and springy. She was immediately satisfied. Even her first try hadn’t failed. She really was amazing!
Qin Shi took a knife and cut off the outer layer of the cake, leaving the smooth, flat cake base. She gave the scraps to the children.
“You eat these first. I’ll spread cream on that one later and turn it into a cake.”
“Yay!” The children eagerly picked up the cake scraps from the plate and stuffed them into their mouths. Their eyes immediately lit up.
“So sweet!”
“So fragrant~”
“So tasty.”
The three children covered their mouths. The soft, sweet flavour they had never tasted before made them reluctant to swallow.
Qin Shi looked at them with amusement, then picked up a small piece and handed it to Lu Zetian. “Try it.”
Lu Zetian took it, and after eating, his eyes changed. “It tastes better than egg cake.”
Qin Shi hummed proudly. This was something she had studied for a long time. She had even asked someone to bring butter from the city for her. Of course it tasted better than the egg cakes of this era.
An’an raised her hand and explained with distress, “Mom put in lots and lots of eggs, milk, and sugar. Of course it’s tasty!”
Lu Zetian smiled at her. Just as he was about to say something, Qin Shi handed him a basin. “Since you’ve eaten, hurry and help. This takes a lot of strength.”
She had originally planned to make it in the afternoon, but Lu Zetian had suddenly gone to the army and only returned after five.
So Qin Shi prepared the side dishes first and waited for Lu Zetian to come back to whip the cream. If she did it alone, they wouldn’t be eating dinner tonight—she’d spend the whole time whipping cream.
There were no gelatin sheets in this era. Qin Shi planned to make the cream with pure milk, butter, and sugar. It was completely possible, but the texture would be very heavy, suitable for filling rather than piping decorations.
But in this era, who could be that particular? Being able to make cream at all was already good enough. Who cared whether it was heavy?
Qin Shi asked Lu Zetian to whip the cream by hand while she watched him and began cooking.
Whipping cream was not easy, especially since Lu Zetian only had chopsticks. Qin Shi had finished cooking, but the cream was still not quite right.
Even Lu Zetian was sweating at the forehead, his arms sore and weak.
Seeing that it was almost done, Qin Shi swapped with Lu Zetian and started whipping it herself.
The three little ones watched and wanted to help, but none of them spoke. They could only stare eagerly.
They knew they were too young, and even if they tried, they wouldn’t be much help. They would only waste time.
“So tiring. Dad, Mom, you’ve worked hard,” An’an suddenly said while looking at Qin Shi and Lu Zetian.
“Mm-hm! You worked hard!” Pingping said softly. “You don’t have to make it for our birthdays in the future.”
Just watching made them feel tired. They hadn’t expected this thing to be so complicated.
Gu Qinghai also said, “Mom, let me help you for a while.”
He was already a big boy and had some strength.
Qin Shi and Lu Zetian looked up at them and smiled gently. Sensible children truly healed people. Even if it was tiring, it felt worth the effort.
“Then you do it.” Qin Shi handed the basin of nearly finished cream to Gu Qinghai, then went to bring over the cake base, fruit, and canned yellow peaches.
After watching Gu Qinghai whip it for a while, Qin Shi felt it was about done and asked him to bring the basin over. After checking it and confirming it was fine, she quickly began making the cake.
Qin Shi sliced the cake base into layers. On the bottom layer, she added chopped yellow peaches, spread cream over it, then covered it with another layer of cake, making two different fillings.
Only then did she begin spreading a large amount of cream on top, smoothing it little by little. Without proper tools, this was really troublesome. Qin Shi was afraid the food would get cold, so she told them to eat first and that she’d be there soon.
But none of them were willing to eat first. They all stayed around her, keeping her company and watching her make the cake.
Qin Shi sped up. Once it was mostly smooth, she arranged orange segments and apple slices on top into a pattern.
When it was finally finished, everyone looked at the cake and smiled until their eyes narrowed into slits.
Everyone washed their hands and sat down. Qin Shi placed the cake in the centre of the table and asked the twins to close their eyes and make a wish.
She had wanted to insert candles, but unfortunately there were only two thick white candles at home, and they wouldn’t look nice, so she gave up on the idea.
The twins, smiling brightly, closed their eyes and made their wishes seriously. Only then did they open their eyes and look at Qin Shi expectantly.
“Can it really come true?”
“Yes!” Pingping nodded with a serious face.
Qin Shi raised her brow. “What wishes did you make?”
Gu Qinghai quickly stopped them. “If you say it out loud, it won’t come true!”
But it was too late. The twins and Gu Qinghai spoke their wishes together.
“I hope that from now on, every birthday, our whole family will celebrate together!”
At that moment, the twins’ hearts were connected, and they said the exact same thing in unison.
After saying it, they heard Gu Qinghai’s words and panicked, looking at Qin Shi and Lu Zetian in alarm. “What do we do? What do we do? We said it out loud!”
Lu Zetian was about to comfort them when Gu Qinghai said, “If it’s this wish, it should still come true.”
Then he looked at Qin Shi and asked expectantly, “Right, Mom?”
Lu Zetian immediately turned to look at Qin Shi too. Qin Shi smiled and said, “But you’ll all grow up eventually, get married, and build your own families. We can’t stay by your sides forever.”
Lu Zetian’s heart instantly sank.
The children also pouted. “We won’t grow up or get married!”
Gu Qinghai nodded too. “We want to be with you forever.”
Qin Shi smiled. “People always grow up. But even when you’re grown, we can still celebrate birthdays together.”
“When the time comes, I’m just afraid you’ll find it troublesome and won’t want to come find me to celebrate.”
Gu Qinghai stiffened his neck. “That won’t happen! We’ll always live at home!”
The twins nodded along.
Qin Shi touched his head and smiled, changing the topic. “It’s your birthday. Let’s not talk about this. Hurry and eat. The food has been sitting for a while.”
“Then promise us that you’ll spend every birthday with us from now on. Every year!” Gu Qinghai looked at Qin Shi stubbornly.
The twins echoed, “That’s right, that’s right!”
Even Lu Zetian stared intently at Qin Shi, wanting to know her answer.
Qin Shi smiled. “Of course, as long as you’re willing.”
Gu Qinghai smiled. Lu Zetian also relaxed the hand he hadn’t realised he had clenched.
“Eat, eat.”
“Okay~”
“Ah! Such tasty meat! Mom, what’s this called?” An’an’s muffled voice sounded.
“Sweet and sour ribs.”
“Wuwu, water! Water! Spicy!” Pingping covered his mouth and reached toward Lu Zetian.
Lu Zetian quickly gave him water. “You can’t eat spicy food, yet you insisted on trying.”
Pingping gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, hissing from the spice while smiling. He had seen An’an eating happily and wanted to try too.
Qin Shi picked up a piece of steamed fish that Gu Qinghai couldn’t reach and placed it in his bowl. When Gu Qinghai saw it was the boneless belly part, he grinned.
Lu Zetian found the cake a little in the way and lifted it to place aside. An’an immediately cried out, “Dad, Dad! Where are you taking it?”
Lu Zetian was helpless. “I’m just putting it aside. We’ll eat it after dinner.”
Hearing this, An’an immediately lowered her head and began shovelling rice into her mouth. “Don’t take it away. I’ve already finished eating!”
Lu Zetian’s face turned stern, his tone serious. “Eat properly.”
An’an, who had been thinking constantly about the cream cake, saw Lu Zetian’s expression change and immediately didn’t dare speak more. She obediently ate properly.
Qin Shi lightly glared at him. “It’s the children’s birthday. Don’t be so fierce.”
“That’s right, that’s right!” With Qin Shi backing her up, An’an became lively again.
Lu Zetian had no choice but to close his mouth and sit down to eat his own food.
Seeing that she had “won,” An’an immediately giggled with Pingping.
The atmosphere returned to its usual ease and happiness.
—
**Author’s Note:**
Qin Shi: When Lu Zetian and I aren’t together anymore, as long as you’re willing to fly to another city, or if you want me to come back specially to celebrate your birthday with you, that’s all fine.
Today’s Sister Qin is also emotionless.
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