Chapter 120 Our love is this vast starry river

Chapter 120 Our love is this vast starry river

Time flies, and twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the height of summer in Beijing, an award ceremony was reaching its climax in the highest hall.

In the first row of the audience seats, Su Wanqing sat upright. Her elegant cheongsam accentuated her timeless charm, only with a touch of gentle curve at the corners of her eyes.

Her entire focus was on the high platform.

Lu Zhanting, standing beside him, wore an old-style military uniform with his rank insignia long since removed, his shoulder insignia empty. Yet, his figure was more like a mountain than the assembled generals behind him.

He was watching too.

Looking at the man who was nearly forty years old, with a calm face and whose features bore a striking resemblance to her own, she felt a deep connection to him.

"Now, please welcome Major General Lu Nian'an, Commander-in-Chief of our 'Guardians' Special Operations Force, to the stage to receive the 'August 1st' Medal!"

The emcee's voice was loud and clear.

Lu Nian'an stepped onto the stage, his steps steady as a mountain, each step seemingly treading on the pulse of history.

As the medal, symbolizing the highest honor for a soldier, was pinned to his chest, his gaze pierced through the throng of people and landed precisely on the first row.

No words were spoken.

He faced his parents, raised his hand, and gave a crisp military salute.

With a flick of the wrist, the wind stirs.

At that moment, Lu Zhanting slowly raised his right hand and returned the greeting with an equally impeccable gesture.

His eyes burned with an uncontainable rage.

Su Wanqing did not salute; she simply smiled and nodded gently to her son, but her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

After the ceremony ended, a huge crowd surged in.

"Old Lu! You've raised an even more formidable son!" An elderly general with white hair, Lu Zhanting's former comrade-in-arms, slapped him hard on the shoulder, his voice booming, "I've heard that what Nian'an did this time is crazier than the two of us combined back then!"

Lu Zhanting's lips curled into a very faint smile.

"You brat, you've got guts just like me."

"Professor Su, your daughter is a living saint in our health system, someone we can't even get her to come!" A leader smiled and leaned over. "The new virus in Africa left global experts helpless, but Xixi led a team there and brought it under control in just half a month! This isn't just a matter of duty, it's a miracle!"

Su Wanqing smiled modestly: "That child is soft-hearted."

Before he finished speaking, the crowd was pushed apart by an invisible aura.

A young man, also dressed in a general's uniform, walked over. His face was cold and his eyes were so sharp that people dared not look him in the eye.

It was Lu Chen, the second son of the Lu family.

He is currently the commander of the "Fang" Special Operations Brigade and the most unruly colonel in the entire army.

He walked up to his father and said only three words.

"I'm here now that the exercise is over."

Beside him, a cheerful and outgoing young general—Black Bear's son—warmly put his arm around his shoulder and winked at Lu Zhanting and his wife: "Uncle, Aunt, Chenzi almost wiped out the Blue Army's headquarters on the training field, and he's writing a self-criticism now!"

The family looked at each other and smiled, then turned around in tacit understanding, leaving all the congratulations and noise behind.

The car was not driven home.

Martyrs' Cemetery in the suburbs of Beijing.

They walked to a huge tombstone with a large burial site, covered with names of brothers who had fallen in the "War of Apocalypse".

Lu Zhanting bent down and gently brushed away the dust from the tombstone with his palm, his movements as if he were tucking a blanket around his sleeping comrade.

Su Wanqing then placed down a bunch of pure white chrysanthemums.

The family stood quietly.

Lu Nian'an and Lu Chen looked solemn; they had grown up listening to the stories behind these names.

They know better than anyone how the medals on their chests and the peace beneath their feet were bought with their own blood.

"Dad, Mom, we're leaving now. We have things to do at the military base." After a long while, Lu Nian'an finally spoke.

Lu Zhanting nodded.

Watching the three "kids" who were already capable of supporting themselves drive away, Lu Zhanting turned around, took Su Wanqing's hand, and felt the familiar and burning warmth of his palm.

“Let’s go home too,” he said softly.

A smile that only he could understand spread across Su Wanqing's face.

"Okay, let's go home."

The next second, the world lost its sound and color before their eyes.

This is not a sudden change, but a gentle dissolution.

The pines and cypresses of the cemetery and the outline of the capital city all turned into flowing light and receded into the distance.

When the light shone again, a completely different world unfolded before our eyes.

The Linghu Lake glistens in the sunlight, and the wooden houses along its shore remain as rustic as ever.

The distant mountains are shrouded in an ethereal mist, where time seems to lose all meaning.

They changed out of their formal attire, put on the simplest cotton and linen clothes, and walked barefoot, hand in hand, on the cool grass.

“Nian’an is becoming more and more like you, calm and reliable.” Su Wanqing’s voice was filled with laughter.

“Chen’er’s reckless spirit is just like mine,” Lu Zhanting replied, his tone full of pride. “As for Xixi… I’ve heard that the international medical community privately calls her ‘the Angel of Healing Hands’.”

“She simply continued your protection in another way.” Su Wanqing’s gaze was fixed on the calm lake. “She is most like us.”

The two walked to the giant tree by the lake, which was covered in pink flowers, and sat down side by side.

"Do you remember?" Lu Zhanting pulled his wife into his arms, his chin gently resting on the top of her head. "It was right here that you promised me you would have two more children."

"How could I forget?" Su Wanqing leaned against his strong chest, her voice tinged with the warmth of memory. "You were so excited back then, like a little boy, you hugged me and spun me around, you almost threw me into the lake."

Lu Zhanting chuckled softly.

In his life, he went from being an orphan who didn't know where his home was to meeting her and having a home.

Today, the children have grown up and are soaring in the sky.

He felt as if he had been living a dream that was too long and too beautiful.

“This is not a dream, Zhan Ting.” Su Wanqing seemed to hear his thoughts. She raised her head and gently traced the deep lines at the corners of his eyes with her fingertips. “This is our life. We lived together, loved together, and fought together. Every mark here is proof.”

Lu Zhanting lowered his head and gazed deeply at the woman in his arms.

Her eyes were still clear, yet deeper than when she was young, like a night lake reflecting the stars, encompassing all his sharpness and weariness.

"Yes, our lives."

He leaned down and kissed her lips.

This kiss lacked the plunder and fervor of youth, and instead possessed a steadfastness and tenderness that bound them together to the very core of their being.

After a long while, their lips parted.

"Qingqing".

Lu Zhanting took a small wooden box out of his pocket.

Inside the box were two rings crafted from the hardest spiritual wood in the space. Decades of wearing them had made them as smooth and lustrous as jade, radiating a soft glow.

He took Su Wanqing's left hand and, once again, solemnly put the glove on her wrist.

Her hands were no longer delicate; you could even feel the thin calluses on her knuckles from years of holding a scalpel.

But in his eyes, these hands had smoothed the scars on his brow, given birth to three children for him, and snatched countless lives back from the clutches of death.

These hands are more precious than any jewel in the world.

"Wife," he said, using the simplest yet most heartfelt term of endearment, "thank you for giving me your life."

Su Wanqing's eyes turned completely red.

She picked up another ring and put it on his finger.

"Honey, thank you too. You gave me a safe harbor."

The two held hands and nestled together quietly.

They could use their minds to return to their youngest self, but they never did.

They enjoyed watching each other's hair turn silver and seeing the wrinkles that marked their shared time.

Because every mark is a badge of their deep love for each other.

“When I was young, I always loved to look at the stars,” Lu Zhanting suddenly said.

"I'm wondering, the universe is so vast, what is the meaning of all that we're doing our best to protect?"

"And now?" Su Wanqing asked softly.

Lu Zhanting did not answer.

He took her hand, stood up, and walked to the center of the Spirit Lake.

With his thought, the light in the entire space dimmed.

The sun and moon overhead disappeared.

In its place lies a vast and dazzling sea of ​​stars that defies description!

Countless stars slowly swirled around them, and the Milky Way, like a ribbon of light within reach, gently encircled them.

The starry sky here is billions of times more magnificent than any other place on Earth.

“Look.”

Lu Zhanting pointed to the boundless starry sky, his voice filled with unprecedented awe and tenderness.

"That's the meaning."

"Our love has not disappeared with time."

"It has become every blade of grass and every tree in this world, a belief in the eyes of children, and the land we all protect from being safe and sound."

"My dear, it has become this vast ocean of stars."

"Here, we are eternity."

Su Wanqing nestled in his arms, gazing at the universe born from their love, tears streaming down her face, yet carrying the happiest smile.

Their legend has long since faded into history.

Their love has transformed into this vast galaxy, existing alongside time, eternal and indestructible.