RMM – Chapter 80 Life is Impermanent

“Go ahead, what do you want to ask?”

Su Feng sat down in the chair behind his desk and looked at Su Ruo as he spoke.

“Dad, you know about the commander—about Yue Chen’s transfer, right?” Su Ruo also found a place to sit.

Commander? Su Feng couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at his daughter’s odd way of referring to her husband. What kind of name was that?

“Mm, I know.”

“Why did he get transferred there of all places? Province D—it’s so far away.” Su Ruo grumbled loudly.

Su Feng didn’t respond and simply watched her with interest. Was she trying to get something out of him?

“Dad,” Su Ruo grew embarrassed under his gaze and complained, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“If you want to ask something, just ask. Don’t try to pry it out of me—it won’t work.” Su Feng withdrew his gaze and chuckled.

Since her rebirth, Su Ruo had long stopped being afraid of Su Feng. Even though he appeared stern, at home and in front of her, he was just a regular dad. He wasn’t all that different from others—sometimes strict, sure, but he genuinely cared about his children.

“What could I even try to pry out of you?” Su Ruo muttered inwardly, Sly old fox! “I just wanted to know some details. Is it necessary to be this secretive?”

Su Feng snorted. Sure enough, a married daughter is like water splashed out—her whole heart is tied to that brat Xi Yuechen now.

“Dad, can’t you at least give me a hint?” Su Ruo grew anxious when Su Feng remained silent.

“What’s so strange about it? Yue Chen is naturally going to serve the country and earn military merit. As for Province D—well, they need him there. That’s all.”

…Su Ruo was speechless. She glared at Su Feng. That’s your answer?! She let out a long sigh. Why did I even think I could get something useful out of him? Old fox!

There was no way Su Feng would tell her the truth. Not only was it military classified information, but even just considering the danger of the assignment, he wouldn’t tell her—he didn’t want her to worry.

Having gotten nothing from Su Feng, Su Ruo gave up. Province D it is, whatever. It’s not like he’s going overseas. He’ll still be able to come back a few times a year, right? Worst case, I’ll just go visit him. It’s not like I have a job anyway—I’ve got plenty of time.

“By the way, how’s your hand now?” Su Feng asked before leaving the study.

“It’s fine now, all healed.” Su Ruo stretched her hand out, showing it was really okay.

“Good. Just make sure to take care of yourself.” Su Feng said before leaving the room, walking slowly downstairs.

Watching her father’s back, Su Ruo puffed out her cheeks slightly and smiled with curved eyes. Fine, I’ll forgive you for keeping secrets about the commander’s transfer—just this once—since you care about me so much.

“What were you two talking about? Can you tell us now?” Su Ruo had just come downstairs when she heard Zhang Huaqing’s voice.

Looking around and not seeing her father, Su Ruo asked, “Where’s my dad? Didn’t he come down?”

“Where else? Off playing chess with his old army buddies. He’s never home. The army and chess are his entire life—nothing else matters to him!” Zhang Huaqing huffed lightly.

“Oh? Are you mad? Jealous, maybe?” Su Ruo sat next to her and teased, hugging her arm. “It’s just a bunch of old men—what’s there to be jealous of? Come on, tell me~”

“Go away, you cheeky girl. How did I end up with two kids as unserious as you? Who did you take after?”

“Obviously it’s all to make you happy—I’m self-taught, you know. Come on, give us a smile.” Su Ruo reached out and pulled Zhang Huaqing’s mouth into a smile.

“Stop that. If you really want to make me happy, come home more often—and give me a grandchild soon. That’d be the greatest act of filial piety you could do in this lifetime.” Zhang Huaqing laughed as she spoke. The idea of a grandchild had been on her mind for a while now. Everyone else already had several!

Su Ruo was exasperated. Why is it always about kids? First of all, I need the conditions to even have one, right?

“Mom, that wish might have to be put on hold.” She noticed Zhang Huaqing looking at her confused, so she explained, “Just now when I talked to Dad, that’s what it was about. Your precious son-in-law is about to head off on a long journey.”

“What do you mean? Speak clearly.” Zhang Huaqing pressed.

“You know about his promotion, right?” Su Ruo grabbed an orange from the table and casually peeled it.

“Of course, he’s a senior colonel now. I was planning to invite him over to celebrate during his next leave.”

“Well, you’ll have to wait a while for that—hmph.” Su Ruo huffed in annoyance, then added, “Your precious son-in-law got promoted and reassigned. Now he’s going to the border to defend the country.”

“The border?” Zhang Huaqing exclaimed in shock. “Where? How come I didn’t know?”

“Province D. I only found out last night.” Su Ruo said, popping an orange slice in her mouth, then handing one to Zhang Huaqing. “Here, open up—it’s sweet.”

“Behave and tell me properly. What exactly is going on? Why is he suddenly being sent to Province D?” Zhang Huaqing swallowed the orange and warned her not to mess around.

“I already told you everything I know. I’d like to know how it happened too! Dad said it’s for serving the country.”

“Why does this promotion feel more like exile? What’s he going to do there—pick tea leaves? No, I’m going to ask your father. That old coot—how could he hide something this big from me?”

Su Ruo burst into laughter, grabbing the agitated Zhang Huaqing. “Don’t bother. He won’t tell you. I already asked—he said it’s military classified and refused to say a word. Asking him is pointless. Come on, calm down.”

“But what about you? What will you do when Yue Chen is gone?” Zhang Huaqing asked, though mostly out of habit. After all these years, she knew what Su Feng was like—his so-called principles were like the Great Wall: impenetrable no matter what you threw at them.

“Me? I’ll be at home, of course. I’ll be a proper military wife.” Su Ruo finished the last slice of orange and added, “I’ll fly over every now and then to check if your son-in-law is living well. But your plan to get a grandchild will probably have to be delayed again.”

Zhang Huaqing instantly slumped on the sofa, head aching. “Sigh, forget the grandchild. What matters is you. Tell me honestly—do you feel wronged?”

“What are you saying? Haven’t you asked that a million times already? I don’t feel wronged—I think it’s all great. Stop bringing it up,” Su Ruo’s tone turned serious, brows furrowed. “Mom, if you keep asking, I’ll really get mad. I’m doing fine. What would people think if they overheard you asking that?”

“Okay, okay, I won’t ask anymore. You stubborn girl.” Zhang Huaqing shook her head. As long as her daughter was happy, that was enough. Let it go—children will have their own fate.

Su Ruo stayed at the military compound that night. She didn’t call Xi Yuechen, knowing he must be busy and not wanting to distract him.

Indeed, Xi Yuechen was extremely busy. A flurry of meetings and emergency training sessions had filled the past few days, and tomorrow it would all finally wrap up. But the day after tomorrow, he’d be setting off.

Time was tight.

He had already arranged everything: once tomorrow’s work ended, he’d go home for a day, then leave directly for Province D. It didn’t matter where he departed from—he wasn’t bringing much anyway.

He sat in his study, deep in thought. Though officially called a transfer, the truth was this was a mission to Province D. And once it was complete, he’d likely be reassigned again. But who knew when that mission would end?

Today, Political Commissar Wang had clapped him on the shoulder and said, “The road ahead is long. Encourage yourself.”

Xi Yuechen understood what that meant. Province D had always been a hotbed of cross-border crime. No matter how many crackdowns there were, it never truly quieted down.

This time, he was heading into a grueling battle with no end in sight.

The next morning, with nothing in particular to do, Su Ruo told Zhang Huaqing she was heading out and drove to Muyou.

She hadn’t expected that as soon as she stepped into the second-floor bar, she would see a familiar figure.

“Hey, Bo’an!” she called as she walked over.

“Ruo Ruo?” Liang Bo’an turned around, surprised to see her.

“What are you doing here? A big boss like you actually has free time?” Su Ruo sat beside him, teasing with a smile.

“Even a big boss needs to breathe. Ever heard of work-life balance?” Liang Bo’an joked good-naturedly.

“Alright, I can’t win against you.” Su Ruo shrugged. She was a little surprised to see him here, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.

“I haven’t contacted you lately—are you doing okay? Last time I saw your hand, it looked hurt.”

Although he hadn’t gotten too close then, he couldn’t possibly have missed those bloodied hands.

“My hand? Oh, it’s fine now.” She held out her hands. “Look, almost all healed. I’ve been applying scar-removal cream these past few days—hopefully it works.”

“It was that bad?” Seeing the mottled scars on her palm, Liang Bo’an felt a painful twinge in his chest. “Does it still hurt?”

The scars were faint, and since her skin was fair, a casual glance wouldn’t reveal much. But up close, her palms were still full of terrifying marks, as if she’d inflicted them on herself. He couldn’t imagine how much pain she’d endured.

A waiter soon brought her a glass of orange juice. After a sip, she replied, “It’s not that bad. Just itchy when the scabs were peeling—couldn’t scratch them, though. But it’s fine now.”

Liang Bo’an felt pained but didn’t show it. He forced a smile. “I’ll get you some better medicine—guaranteed to prevent scarring.”

“No need. The commander already got me some—it’s been working well, so I won’t switch.”

Her rejection dimmed Liang Bo’an’s expression momentarily, but he quickly recovered with a smile. “Alright, but if you need anything, just let me know.”

“Sure. I’ll hold you to that,” Su Ruo laughed, though she didn’t take it too seriously.

“Oh right, did you know that the Hong family left City B?”

Liang Bo’an had been keeping an eye on the Hong family. Recently, the force targeting them had suddenly withdrawn, and they quietly packed up and left the city. Not only did they not try to recover their recent losses, they uncharacteristically backed away. He wasn’t stupid—there had clearly been a deal made behind the scenes.

“Yeah, I know. Hong Shirong did something wrong. No need to punish the whole Hong family. Besides, I wasn’t actually harmed.” Su Ruo sighed with a smile. “Consider it an act of mercy for my own karma. Life is unpredictable, after all.”

Liang Bo’an could guess this was her decision. Who else would pity the Hong family? Who else could get Xi Yuechen to change his mind?

“You guys should leave them alone now too, okay? They’ve left City B—let it be.” Su Ruo added. It wasn’t aimed at him specifically, just a general statement.

“Mm, we won’t.” Liang Bo’an smiled in response, but under the dim bar lights, that smile looked a little bitter.

I probably don’t even have the right to stand up for you.