“Madam, don’t be anxious. A child who just learned of her true parentage would most likely feel like they were abandoned and would hate their parents. And she’s only eighteen this year, she’s still in a rebellious stage.”
The female servant gently consoled her. She was an old nanny in the villa who everyone called ‘Mama Wu.’
“How can she say we abandoned her?” Tan Yalan raised her eyebrows in anger, making her appear harsh and unkind. “I went through nine months of pregnancy to bring her out in this world. With that alone, she’s hugely indebted to us. Moreover, we lost her by accident. Now that we’re taking her back to the Yu family to enjoy the riches, she’s unwilling?”
Seeing her madam’s manner, Mama Wu sighed.
After all, she had worked here for a long time and she had her sources of news.
The Yu family’s company ran into trouble lately. Another prominent family in the city, the Li family offered to help, but the condition was that the two families entered an alliance marriage.
But the young master of the Li family was a silly one. Eunha of the Yu family, on the other hand, was famous for being a perfect miss in North City. With her haughty personality, how could she possibly be willing to marry that silly young master?
Furthermore, they had given up looking for this Second Miss over ten years ago. Now, they’re anxiously seeking her back… Wasn’t their intention obvious?
Although she felt that it wasn’t quite right, she was but a servant. She watched First Miss grow up, so she would feel it’s unfair to see the girl marry a silly young master.
But then again, towards the Second Miss who was about to return, this seemed…
“Madam, you need to talk things over slowly. After all, it’s been years. Why don’t we check out the sort of people Second Miss’s adoptive parents are first?”
Mama Wu’s words reminded Tan Yalan.
Her voice grew sharp all of a sudden. “Mama Wu, you’re right. I’ll send someone to look. I want to see how her adoptive parents taught her, for her to say things like her biological parents are dead. How immoral must her adoptive parents be? They are probably afraid that her biological parents would find her one day. How can I allow them to teach my child in such a way?!”
She redirected her anger towards Lisa towards her adoptive parents.
Mama Wu’s lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something. But ultimately, she said nothing.
Tan Yalan waved a hand. “Forget it. Mama Wu, I’d better take a look at it myself. Didn’t Hu Yan say that she’s in the military right now? Since we have no business dealings and connections in Dayi City and that she’s in the military too, it won’t be easy to see her. I’d better see her adoptive parents first and then take action from there.”
Her words made the solution clear. Mama Wu nodded and replied, “Do you need someone to accompany you? I’ll ask Old Hong to book your flight tickets first.”
Old Hong was her husband, and also the housekeeper of the Yu family.
Tan Yalan nodded. “Okay. Keep an eye on your phone. I refuse to believe that after I meet her adoptive parents, she would still refuse to see me. If she calls back, notify me. I’ll go to Dayi City first to check on their background.”
“Okay, Madam.”
Mama Wu responded. Something suddenly struck her. “Miss said she has an appointment tonight and won’t be coming back for dinner.”
At the mention of Eunha, Tan Yalan had a rebuking look in her eyes. “Even if that child finds out that she need not enter an alliance marriage, she shouldn’t make it so obvious.”
But from her voice, she clearly sounded indulging.
It was a stark contrast compared to how stern she was towards Lisa.
...
Monday, an ordinary day at the Gu family.
Qi Yuefeng came back from buying groceries. The night before, her husband said he won’t be coming home for lunch at noon.
Since she was eating by herself, she thought of cooking some light-flavored foods.
Lisa, that lass, had already returned to the troops and called to say everything’s fine the day before. She even said she was taking part in some competitions. If she won she could enter some advanced training that Qi Yuefeng wasn’t too clear about.
In any case, whatever it was, she wouldn’t be able to see her daughter for two years.
At the thought of her child, Qi Yuefeng smiled.
When she reached her apartment building, she saw a luxurious car parked by the roadside.
That car was black, but Qi Yuefeng didn’t recognize the brand.
But just looking at the curves and the luster of the surface, it clearly felt different from all the other cars that had been to her place before.
It was clearly more upscale!
And next to the car stood a man in black clothes and sunglasses. He stood there and his aura looked like he was filming a movie or something.
Such commotion was never seen in a small place like theirs. She thought they were relatives of their neighbors.
As she walked into the mini-mart, she saw Chen Yanhong winking at her. “Yuefeng, someone incredible came to your house. It’s a woman!”
Although Qi Yuefeng wasn’t much fond of this gossipy Chen Yanhong either, she had to maintain harmony with her neighbor on the surface. When she heard the person was here for her, Qi Yuefeng smiled and asked in surprise, “She’s visiting our family?”
“Yes, yes.” Chen Yanhong was curious. But the words she next said merited a beating. “Aye, Yuefeng, that woman wore branded items of clothing from head to toe. She’s of different stature. Is she a mistress your husband Gu Hong?”
“What nonsense are you spewing?”
Qi Yuefeng shook with fury at hearing this. “Chen Yanhong, you can’t make irresponsible remarks about some things!”
Not wishing to argue further with Chen Yanhong, she briskly went up the stairs.
“Chey. I bet she is!”
Chen Yanhong’s lips curled disdainfully. She recalled the indescribably beautiful woman she saw earlier who was adorned with jewels all over.
A sense of inferiority involuntarily surged inside of her.
What followed next was a fit of manic jealousy!
Who knows, she might be a mistress who a rich man kept under the sheets!
‘What is she so smug about? Chey!’
Never mind Chen Yanhong’s sour words, though.
When Qi Yuefeng heard her, she felt panicked for some reason. But she had faith in her husband.
When she got upstairs, Qi Yuefeng saw a woman standing at her door.
That woman wore a brown mink leather coat. It’s not a color that anyone could look good in, but this woman somehow looked classy and elegant in it.
Detecting a movement behind her, that woman slowly turned around.
‘What a beautiful rich woman!’
Qi Yuefeng couldn’t help exclaiming in her heart.
Although they were both women, it was clear the other party had a noble aura; she wore red lipstick on her fair face, and with her sunglasses on, she gave off an aloof and intimidating vibe.
She exuded gracefulness and poise from head to toe.
In contrast to that, in her simple and casual down jacket, Qi Yuefeng just appeared like an ordinary woman. The comparison was really too obvious.
She didn’t go so far as to feel inferior, but she felt astonished.
The rich woman sized Qi Yuefeng up, before revealing a blatantly disdainful look.
As if she was forcing herself to speak to her, she said, “I am Tan Yalan, Gu Lalisa’s biological mother.”
Qi Yuefeng’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.
...
It was the day of their dueling session.
The other week, Lisa, Eunbi, and also the newcomer Gao Rui…
All three of them progressed into this week’s dueling session.
Lisa paid close attention when Gao Rui competed.
And she came to a realization that Gao Rui wasn’t a new recruit.
Her dueling skills weren’t that bad. The only difference was in the way she fought because it wasn’t the same way as theirs—she had a more combative form of fight style.
Both she and Lisa won consecutively.
That made Lisa sense danger.
Since it was only a round away before her turn, she stood among the crowd and watched the fight.
But as she watched, she was constantly in a disturbed state of mind.
All of a sudden, someone patted her on her shoulder.
She turned to realize it was Huo Yingcheng.
Seeing Jimin, Lisa revealed a smile. “Commander Huo, you’re back?”
Jimin seemed to shuffle in and out of the military camp from time to time.
The Chief Instructor had stopped asking her to help him buy things; hence, Commander Huo would settle it after he had returned.
Jimin glanced at the crowd, and he said in a cheerful voice, “Isn’t your competition about to start?”
Lisa nodded. “Yes, why? You plan to watch the competition, Commander Huo?”
“I’m not here to watch the competition. I’m just here to tell you that if you win this, it’s a guarantee for you to enter the advanced training camp.”
It shocked Lisa. “Why? Don’t they need to do a selection? There’s a new recruit who goes by the name of Gao Rui, and her performance isn’t bad.”
“Gao Rui is different…” At the mention of Gao Rui, Jimin appeared mysterious. “She’s purely here to join in the fun. Just don’t get into a conflict with her. I guarantee you if you win this, you will enter the advanced training camp.”
Upon hearing this, Lisa raised a brow. “Is this considered getting in by the back door?”
“What back door?” Jimin asked righteously. “This is aboveboard. How can you call it getting in through the back door?”
Lisa was speechless.
“Gu Lalisa. Gu Lalisa!”
Chen Haoyang’s voice was heard. Lisa immediately jogged over, and when she turned back to look, Commander Huo had already disappeared in the crowd.
Lisa’s opponent this time was a girl from the Third Unit, and she easily won her.
She realized that the longer she trained, her reflexes became sharper and sharper.
Others didn’t seem to have Lisa’s sharpness and level of perception.
Could it be a benefit of being reborn?
After she had won, Chen Haoyang gave her a thumbs-up.
Gao Rui watched her from the crowd.
At the thought of how she had a confirmation to enter the advanced training camp, Lisa heaved a sigh of relief in her heart.
But before she could receive her reward, someone came to inform her that there was an emergency call from her phone, and she was asked to go to the mailroom to answer the call.
Soldiers aren’t allowed to carry their phones with them, and they could only retrieve their phones during the weekend.
If there was an emergency from home, they could only call the military.
But her family never gave Lisa an emergency call before.
Upon hearing this, Lisa had a bad premonition.
She suddenly recalled that Tan Yalan of the Yu family called her last Friday.
Could it be that it had something to do with the emergency call?
On the way, her brows were furrowed as she thought about such a matter.
Accordingly, the Yu family shouldn’t have any actions yet. Why was her family calling her so urgently then?
The uneasiness she felt grew in intensity.
When Lisa answered Qi Yuefeng’s call in the mailroom, she heard the latter’s nonstop crying.
She felt her heart tighten.
“Mom, what’s the matter?”
She sounded anxious and in a hurry.
The others in the mailroom turned to look at her curiously.
“Li… Lisa… Mom let you down. We have let you down!”
Her sorrowful and painful voice made Lisa feel highly uneasy.
“Mom, what exactly happened? Just say it. Don’t cry first. Tell me what happened first, alright?”
She had never heard Qi Yuefeng sob so hard before.
Over the phone, her voice sounded terribly broken, like she had suffered a great agitation.
Unable to stop herself from crying, she could not speak coherently.
Without a coherent reply from Qi Yuefeng for a long time, Lisa only heard her repeatedly apologizing.
Her brows furrowed. Knowing she could not let Qi Yuefeng cry on, she sternly asked, “Did someone from the Yu family show up?”
Perhaps because Lisa’s voice sounded stern and that the contents of her sentence were on point, it surprised Qi Yuefeng.
In any case, her sobbing finally paused for a brief moment. “How… how did you know?”
But after that, the sobbing resumed.
“I’ll come back right away!”
With a click-clack sound, Lisa immediately hung up the phone.
With a frigid expression, she couldn’t be bothered about anything else. She directly returned to the competition venue.
The dueling session hadn’t ended yet, and it was still in full swing. Lisa saw Chen Haoyang standing near the arena.
Lisa ran over and went straight to the point with him, “Instructor Chen. If I wanted to go home, which procedures are needed to be done?”
Chen Haoyang could not react for a moment. “Go home? Go back to Dayi City?”
“Mm!”
She responded, and the coldness in her eyes became more intense.
Her lips were slightly pale. Seeing that something wasn’t quite right with her, Chen Haoyang asked, “Did something important happen at home?”
“To me, it’s something important. But the military might not approve.”
Unless it was something super important, the military absolutely wouldn’t allow new recruits to go home.
Nothing of the sort had ever happened in the military before, so Lisa wasn’t certain if they would allow her to go back.
But she must go back!
Why hadn’t it occurred to her that the Yu family would go to her adoptive parents first?
Chen Haoyang straightened his body, but he didn’t say for sure that he wouldn’t approve. He said, “Tell me about it.”
There were other people around and all of them were looking at Lisa with keen interest; some were waiting to watch a good show, while others merely stared out of curiosity.
Lisa asked Chen Haoyang to step aside. Although she found it hard to tell him this, she had no other choice.
She only told him she wasn’t her adoptive parents’ biological daughter and that her biological parents showed up at her home now. Her home was now in a mess, and she had to go back and handle the matter.
Chen Haoyang had never encountered something of that sort either.
The military officer who set the rules back then might not have expected something like it, either.
This came so suddenly, so he was a little lost. After thinking for three seconds, he said, “Wait. I’ll talk to the Chief Instructor.”
Chen Haoyang didn’t stop her, but instead he helped her. This made Lisa feel very grateful.
“Thanks, Instructor Chen.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m just helping you tell the Chief Instructor. I can’t make the decision. The Chief Instructor might not consent. How about this? You come along with me.”
Lisa nodded and followed Chen Haoyang.
Actually, she wanted to tell the Chief Instructor first.
But after some thought, considering that she was directly under Chen Haoyang’s supervision, something might go wrong if she skipped her immediate superior to report directly to the Chief Instructor.
Although she felt panicked, she still knew what she should and shouldn’t do.
Lisa contemplated whether or not the Chief Instructor would consent.
She felt that he would likely consent.
When they reached the Chief Instructor’s office, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Lisa saw Jimin there as well.
Jimin had just left a moment ago when Lisa was about to duel, and now he was seeing her again.
But at the moment, Lisa had a flustered expression on her face, which was unlike her usual quiet demeanor. It made Jimin feel a little astonished.
Seeing that she came with her instructor, he didn’t ask anything.
Jungkook noticed it, too.
He saw Lisa enter with her immediate instructor.
Not being her usual calm and quiet self, she seemed to restrain her emotions.
This was the first time he ever saw her like this.
Hence, without waiting for Chen Haoyang to enter and salute to him, Jungkook coldly asked, “What’s wrong with her?”
Chen Haoyang paused in surprise, and Lisa also raised her head to look at Jungkook.
There was a pleading gaze in her eyes.
Chen Haoyang recounted what Lisa told her earlier on.
After he had finished speaking, Jimin’s mouth was wide open; it was so wide one could stuff an egg into it. “Lisa, you have such a dramatic story?”
She pursed her lips tightly. Because she had been biting her lips, it now appeared pale. With a gloomy look on her fair face, she said, “I didn’t wish for this either.”
A glint of surprise flickered across Jungkook’s deep eyes.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected something like this either.
He straightened his body after Chen Haoyang finished reporting to him. “Just nice. Commander Huo and I are going out, let’s head out together.”
Seeing him give his consent, Lisa finally managed a smile. “Thanks, Chief Instructor. Thanks, Instructor Chen.”
Instructor Chen nodded. “Then just go with the Chief Instructor. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Since the Chief Instructor had given his consent, he needn’t go through too much trouble.
“Mm!”
Chen Haoyang had to return to the event area, whereas Lisa stayed.
Jungkook packed some stuff, and after Chen Haoyang left, Jimin couldn’t hold himself back from asking Lisa. “Lisa, what happened to your family? Are your biological parents showing up to take you back with them?”
“Yes.”
Lisa couldn’t reveal too much to them. After all, Jimin and Jungkook were outsiders who knew nothing about the situation.
“Oh…”
Jimin had more questions to ask, but he then felt like he shouldn’t be asking too much.
Seeing that Jungkook was almost done packing, he immediately went to the yard to prepare to drive out of the military zone.
When they got into the car, Lisa felt uneasy.
She kept staring at the back of the front passenger seat; her eyes out of focus, her hands unconsciously clasping together. Even until she had scratched the back of her hands, she didn’t even feel any pain.
Seeing this through the rearview mirror, Jungkook’s brows furrowed slightly.
By the time she had snapped out of her trace, Lisa recalled something else.
Since she had left in a hurry, she wasn’t able to retrieve her phone.
Sitting in the car, she had no idea what the situation was like at home, and that made her feel tormented.
She asked the people who sat in the front, “Chief Instructor, Commander Huo, my phone… I left in a rush just now and didn’t retrieve my phone. Can I borrow your phone to call home?”