Gu Tang: "..."
"Haha, a son needs to be disciplined when necessary, otherwise he'll become too naughty," Qin Junche continued.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Gu Tang looked directly into Qin Junche's eyes and asked.
This time, Qin Junche remained silent for a longer period of time.
After a long while, he shrugged, turned to look out the window, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is enhancing mental strength very painful?"
"It's alright," Gu Tang said.
"You..." Upon hearing this, Qin Junche subconsciously turned his head to look at Gu Tang.
He licked his lips; the other person's nonchalant tone suddenly made him feel a sense of danger.
"You..." He opened his mouth again.
The dignified Marshal of the Star Army hesitated slightly as he spoke: "Did... something come to mind?"
"Mm," Gu Tang replied.
Qin Junche's face visibly turned deathly pale.
Gu Tang smiled reassuringly at him and said, "You don't need to be nervous. The reason you chose to seal my memories was for my own good."
"No..." Qin Junche opened his mouth, then murmured, "Gu Tang, back then I..."
“It’s all in the past,” Gu Tang interrupted him.
He wasn't simply trying to comfort Qin Junche; it was just that what the other person was nervous about was really nothing to him.
“Although I’ve remembered, I can tell you that when you’re enhancing your mental strength, you’ll be tormented by the most painful things repeatedly.” Gu Tang smiled gently at Qin Junche. “What torments me isn’t those sealed memories. The reason I can remember them is simply because my mental strength has increased to S-level, and the previous hypnotic memory blockade is no longer effective for me.”
"So you don't need to worry about it," he said finally.
After saying these words, Gu Tang relaxed and leaned back in the soft, comfortable seat of the hovercar.
"I'm going to rest for a while. Please let me know when we arrive."
After he finished speaking, he slowly closed his eyes.
How could the most painful memories be those that Qin Junche had blocked?
A bitter smile curved Gu Tang's lips.
The other party was merely fulfilling his duty as a marshal of the imperial legion, a task that a marshal must do to stand before the vast majority of the imperial people and protect the empire.
He also believed that even if it were Qin Junche himself who had to sacrifice himself to ensure the safety of the empire and reduce the deaths of civilians and soldiers, he would not have hesitated.
Putting himself in his shoes, Gu Tang would probably make the same choice.
He didn't care at all about the choice Qin Junche made back then.
But that doesn't mean he can forgive those who hurt his son.
During the forty-eight hours of mental enhancement, what he was relentlessly honing day and night for every nerve was certainly not this matter.
The bitterness on Gu Tang's lips deepened.
Qin Junche sat opposite him, looking at Gu Tang like this.
The other person remembered everything and didn't completely break down like before.
He remained calm, on the contrary.
The calmness made Qin Junche feel a clear sense of estrangement.
Qin Junche's face turned even paler.
He even looked worse than Gu Tang, who had just experienced a boost in mental strength.
The hovercar is going way too fast.
In the somewhat somber atmosphere where the two remained silent, they slowly landed at the villa entrance.
As soon as the car door opened, Qin Xiao's small figure rushed over like a gust of wind.
He threw himself into Gu Tang's arms, rubbing his little head against his father's lower abdomen.
Her once soft black hair quickly became a tangled mess.
Then Qin Xiao looked up, his big eyes looking pitifully at Gu Tang.
Although he remained silent, it seemed as if what he wanted to say was written in his eyes.
Gu Tang quickly bent down and picked up her son's soft little body.
After a month of grueling training, he is now much stronger than before.
At least picking up Qin Xiao was an easy task for him.
Qin Xiao nestled obediently and contentedly on her father's shoulder, her soft cheek occasionally rubbing against Gu Tang's neck.
Seeing that another father had also gotten off the hovercar, Qin Xiao quickly hugged Gu Tang's shoulders even tighter.
He's going to sleep with his dad tonight!
Nobody can take him away from him!
snort!
"Has Xiao'er been going to school obediently these past few days?" Gu Tang simply carried Qin Xiao into the villa.
He sat down on the sofa, affectionately letting Qin Xiao sit on his lap, smiled as he tidied his son's hair, and asked, "Did you miss Daddy?"
Qin Xiao blushed, but still nodded quickly.
"Hahahaha." Qin Xiao's little gesture amused Gu Tang.
He put his arm around his son's waist and asked again, "Xiao'er, if..."
He winked at Qin Xiao and said, "If Dad is going to pilot a mecha to fight bad guys, do you want to go with Dad?"
Huh?
This time the questions were a bit beyond the scope of the curriculum. Qin Xiao tilted his head and looked at Gu Tang with a somewhat blank expression.
Dad can pilot a mecha now?
Isn't Dad's mental strength at F level?
And fighting bad guys?
What bad guys are we fighting?
But because it was her father who asked the question, Qin Xiao obediently blinked her big round eyes and thought about it seriously.
Then, he nodded vigorously.
Of course he'll go!
Dad can't fly the mecha, so he'll fly it.
He will protect his dad!
"Xiao'er is so good!" Gu Tang gently pinched Qin Xiao's nose.
He picked up Qin Xiao and put her on the ground, then stood up and stretched: "To reward my super good Xiao'er, Daddy will cook for you personally today."
After Gu Tang finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the kitchen.
Xiao Qin Xiao quickly took a step forward, wanting to follow.
Qin Junche reached out and pulled his son back by pressing on his shoulder.
He glanced at Gu Tang, who was already busy in the kitchen, and said to Qin Xiao in a low voice, "Dad is going to help Dad cook. You go back to your room and wait patiently."
Qin Xiao glared at Qin Junche and shook his head vigorously.
He doesn't want to!
He can help too.
"Listen to me." Qin Junche said softly, "Your dad hasn't rested for two days. If you go, he'll have to take care of you. If Dad helps him, he can finish cooking faster so he can eat and then rest. Understand?"
This time, Qin Xiao did not immediately refute.
He thought for a moment, then opened his personal terminal and typed: "I want to move to Uncle Han Xuan's manor."
Qin Xiao paused for a moment, then explained directly: "It has a mecha laboratory."
Although I don't know why my father asked that question.
But in Qin Xiao's eyes, since it was Gu Tang who proposed it, he would do his best to cooperate with his father to complete it.
Qin Junche: "...You'll have to ask your dad. He says you can only move if he says so."
Qin Xiao nodded.
Then he really turned around and ran upstairs to his room to read.
Qin Junche straightened up and watched his son's cheerful back.
He felt a sense of warmth and relief, but mostly guilt.
He stood there for a few seconds, his gaze hardening, then turned and went to the kitchen.
"I'll help." Qin Junche had already taken off his coat.
He rolled up his sleeves, took the vegetable washing basket from Gu Tang's hand, and began to wash the vegetables carefully.
In fact, all these tasks can be done by housekeeping robots.
But occasionally, doing such things with your partner feels like a romantic or fun activity.
It is very popular even in the capital city.
While washing the vegetables, Qin Junche asked, "What you were saying to Qin Xiao just now, were you joking?"
Gu Tang just said he was going to fight bad guys in a mecha and asked Qin Xiao if he wanted to come along. He must have been joking, right?
No matter how dangerous the battlefield is, even if Qin Xiao has extraordinary talent in mecha, he is still so young.
“I’m serious,” Gu Tang said.
After his mental strength was raised to S-level, his mood seemed to improve considerably.
While chopping vegetables, he was humming an unfamiliar tune on and off.