The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

In the kitchen, Qiao Xinxin was holding a rag and carefully wiping the grease off the stove for Bai's mother.

Mrs. Bai was washing dishes at the sink. She glanced at Lu Baizhou chatting with Mr. Bai in the living room, then lowered her voice, leaned closer to Qiao Xinxin, and asked with concern, "Xinxin, let me ask you something from the bottom of my heart. How have things been going with Baizhou these past few days?"

"It's fine, Mom," Qiao Xinxin replied while wiping the stove.

"He's used to being a regimental commander in the army, and he always has a cold face. Is he tough? Does he put on airs at home? Has he lost his temper with you these past few days?" Bai's mother asked a series of questions in quick succession, her eyes full of worry.

Qiao Xinxin stopped what she was doing, turned to look at Bai's mother, and a genuine, happy smile appeared on her face.

"Mom, don't worry, he treats me very well," Qiao Xinxin said softly, her voice filled with an unconscious sweetness.

"You really didn't lose your temper?"

"Never." Qiao Xinxin shook her head with a smile. "He never gets angry at me, and he's never said a harsh word to me. He always discusses things with me, big or small, and he respects my opinions a lot."

Upon hearing this, Bai's mother carefully observed the expression on her daughter's face, confirming that she was not lying, before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

She nodded and put the washed dishes into the colander: "That's good, that's good. He may look like a tough, rough man, but he's actually quite sensible and knows how to care for people. He's not the kind of chauvinistic, unreasonable person. With him protecting you, I won't worry."

As they were having a private conversation, a jarring telephone ring suddenly came from the living room.

"Ring ring—ring ring—"

Bai Zhengyuan was leaning back on the sofa, idly flipping through an outdated military magazine. Hearing the phone ring, he put down the magazine, stood up, walked over, and casually answered the phone.

"Hello, who is this?" Bai Zhengyuan's tone was casual.

A hurried and brief report came from the other end of the phone. The voice was loud, and even Lu Baizhou, who was sitting next to him, could vaguely hear it.

Bai Zhengyuan's expression didn't change much the moment he heard the voice on the other end of the phone.

But Lu Baizhou, sitting next to him, keenly noticed that Bai Zhengyuan's fingers, which had been casually holding the phone receiver, suddenly tightened, his knuckles turning white. His body also tensed instantly, entering a state of readiness.

"Understood. Received."

Bai Zhengyuan only said these four words before decisively hanging up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Bai Zhengyuan stood there for two seconds. He took a deep breath and then turned around.

He didn't look at Bai's mother, who was peeking out from the kitchen, nor at Bai's father, who was sitting on the sofa. His gaze swept over the furnishings in the living room and lingered on Qiao Xinxin for a moment.

Finally, he turned his head and looked straight at Lu Baizhou.

"I have a mission. An urgent one." Bai Zhengyuan's voice was deep and serious, leaving no room for doubt. "I have to get back to the team immediately."

The relaxed and peaceful atmosphere in the living room seemed to be instantly sucked away by those words, and it immediately became heavy.

Bai's mother was carrying a plate of sliced ​​apples as she walked out of the kitchen.

Upon hearing this, she abruptly stopped in her tracks. The plate in her hand wobbled uncontrollably, and several pieces of apple nearly fell to the ground. But she quickly took a deep breath, and with great willpower, steadied the plate and her own emotions.

"Leave now?" Mr. Bai put down his wine glass, his smile vanished, and his brows furrowed.

"Okay." Bai Zhengyuan walked quickly towards his room, saying as he went, "The car to pick me up is already waiting downstairs. I have to report to the camp command within half an hour."

Bai Zhengyuan pushed open the door and opened the wardrobe with extremely swift movements.

He pulled out a neatly folded camouflage training uniform. Then he took a small green military backpack and skillfully stuffed in several changes of underwear and a pair of thick marching socks.

His movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation. He had experienced countless emergency assemblies like this before; they had become muscle memory.

Mother Bai carried a plate of apples to the kitchen doorway.

She stood there quietly, watching her son move back and forth in the room, quickly packing his things. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, such as "Be careful" or "Take plenty of food."

But she knew that military orders were absolute, and saying these things now would be useless and would only distract him.

Finally, after saying so much, she managed to utter only one sincere expression of concern: "Did you bring warm clothes? It'll be very chilly at night with heavy dew when you're on a mission in the mountains."

"I brought it, Mom."

Bai Zhengyuan folded his training uniform tightly and stuffed it into his bag. He zipped it up, straightened up, and turned to look at his mother standing in the doorway.

He put on that reassuring, slightly casual smile again.

"Mom, don't worry. It's nothing, just a routine emergency mission," Bai Zhengyuan said, trying to sound relaxed. "I'll come back once this busy period is over."

Bai's mother looked at him and nodded silently, without asking any further questions about the mission; this was the custom for military families.

She turned and placed the apple plate on the table. Then she hurried into the kitchen and turned on the tap.

The icy tap water washed over her hands. She scooped up the water and splashed it hard on her face, trying to calm herself down.

After wiping her face with a towel and her hands on her apron, Bai's mother took a deep breath before coming out again.

She walked up to Bai Zhengyuan, who had already put on his backpack, and stopped in front of him.

Bai's mother didn't speak, but simply reached out her slightly trembling hands to smooth out the slightly wrinkled collar of his training uniform, bit by bit. She then patted away imaginary dust from his shoulders.

Bai Zhengyuan didn't dodge or joke as usual. He just stood there straight, like a tree, letting his mother straighten his collar.

After straightening his collar, Bai Zhengyuan looked down at his mother's slightly graying temples and whispered, "Mom, I'm leaving."

Bai's mother took a step back, fighting back tears, and waved to him, her voice choked with emotion but still firm.

"Go. The mission is important, be careful, and don't overdo it."

Bai Zhengyuan nodded heavily. He turned around, picked up the green backpack, and strode to the door. He then changed into heavy black military boots.

Lu Baizhou had been standing quietly to the side. At this moment, he followed Bai Zhengyuan to the door.

Two people, one standing inside the door and the other standing outside.

Bai Zhengyuan turned his head to look at Lu Baizhou.