A New Grandpa

"Grandpa!"

In the ward, Tan Weiye called out in a low and upset voice, trying to stop the others from discussing the spouse topic. In this turbulent world, who would have the mood to pursue a romantic relationship? Besides, being single was not his fault. He already had someone in his heart, but unfortunately, that person didn't feel the same way about him. Before leaving the capital, Tan Weiye once confessed to Wenyang about his feelings for the latter, but Wenyang rejected him without hesitation. They didn't contact each other in the next two years. After Shaoting passed away, Xing Feng left the army because of that incident, and Wenyang requested a transfer to the southwest. They started to contact each other occasionally, but the long distance kept them from meeting in person. The situation in the southwest was complicated, and he didn't know how Wenyang was doing right now. But he believed the man was doing better than him, as the latter had help from Xing Feng.

"Why the hell are you yelling? I can hear you."

The old man shot Weiye an angry look and snapped. The next second, he turned to Yun Che and smiled. "Yun Che, right? You're about the age as my grandson, so why don't you just call me Grandpa Tan? Xing Feng is a good man, but he's a little stubborn. I know it's not easy to be with him."

Tan Weiye rolled his eyes when he saw that his grandfather was more kind to an outsider than to him. If he hadn't known better, he would think that Yun Che was the old man's illegitimate grandson.

"Come on, Admiral Tan. That's not true. Yun Che is the boss at home. My teammates all say that I'm a guardian beast being summoned around by him all the time."

Xing Feng immediately defended himself, but the old man raised his voice with a sullen look, "So what? Do you have any problem with being his guardian beast? Yun Che is your spouse. Doesn't he have the right to summon you around?"

Some might wonder why the old man treated Yun Che so well, but those who really knew him would understand that he was teaching Xing Feng to be a responsible man like him. Back then, when he was in the capital, he was well-known as a good husband in the upper class. Whether poor or rich, he always stayed by his wife's side. When his wife passed away, he personally handled every detail of her funeral.

The old man believed that a real man should be responsible for his family once he got married. He must love and respect his wife and always put his wife in the first place. Although the world had changed, and a man's spouse could be a man as well, the principle remained the same. He didn't want his favorite student to become a man who accomplished many achievements yet failed to take care of his own family.

"Of course, he does. I'm a doting husband, alright? Admiral Tan, you're my teacher. Though I've let you down once, I won't let you down twice. I love Yun Che and I know I'm lucky to have him. When the time comes, I'll take him to the capital to meet my grandpa."

While reassuring the old man, Xing Feng couldn't help but glance at Yun Che, his eyes full of affection. Love didn't have a shape, but the two Tans could feel that Xing Feng was deeply in love with Yun Che.

"Indeed, you should introduce him to your grandfather. Kiddo, I'm proud of you for this."

Sensing that Tan Jianting's tone became soft, Yun Che cut in, "Thanks, Grandpa Tan. Xing Feng and I get along pretty well. I'm a man myself, so I don't need him to indulge me all the time. We just need to walk ahead side by side."

"Good. Speaking of which, did you say that you could help us solve the zombie crisis? How? Tell me about it."

As a seventy-year-old man, he trusted his judgment on people. Yun Che didn't strike him as the bragging type. Whether Yun's method would work or not, he would like to hear it. Besides, they were desperate now. Any idea would be welcome.

The doomsday catastrophe had brought out the potentials of many young men, and this was no longer an era that would judge a person's capability by his experience or seniority.

"Grandpa Tan, it's time to have some food. We can talk about this while eating."

When Yun Che noticed that it was getting dark outside, he set up a bed table and took out four dishes and several boxes of rice from his Space. The fragrance of the food reminded the two Tans that they hadn't had any food since this morning. Instantly, they started to feel hungry.

"It's delicious. Did you cook this by yourself?"

Tan Weiye tried a piece of twice-cooked meat and gave Yun Che a thumb-up. Smiling, Yun Che picked up a stewed chicken leg and scooped half a bowl of soup for the old man as he responded, "No. My sister made it for me."

Yun Che turned around to carry Chenchen and put the latter on the old man's bed before he took out Chenchen's bowl and filled it with rice, vegetables, and meat. In the meantime, Xing Feng conjured a spoon for the old man and a bowl to hold the soup for Chenchen.

"Is this your child?"

Looking at the plump boy who was having food quietly, Tan Jianting asked. He knew this couldn't be their biological son, but he figured they might have adopted the kid.

"He's our nephew. His mother is Che's elder sister. Chenchen, say Hi to great-grandpa."

Xing Feng took out some paper tissue to put it beside his hand and stroked his head with a smile. Chenchen looked up from the food and said in a sweet voice, "Great-grandpa, nice to meet you. My name is Yun Zichen. I'm three years old. My favorite people are my mom, uncle, uncle Cheng, and Ultraman. You can call me Chenchen."

A three-year-old kid usually wouldn't speak so fluently. Three months ago, Chenchen still had difficulty speaking, but now, he had become articulate, which was attributed to the adults living with him. They had taught and fed him well. His voice was soft, sweet, and pleasing.

"Good boy, Chenchen. You're so cute!"

Tan Jianting liked Chenchen so much that he couldn't help but reach out his hand to stroke Chenchen's head and squeeze his face. Chenchen didn't like to be squeezed by others, but he felt sorry for the old man, who had just lost one of his arms. Therefore, he kept smiling and indulged Tan Jianting in stroking him.

"Grandpa, don't be deceived by his appearance. He's an all-attribute superfunction possessor, a badass," said Tan Weiye with an affectionate tone.

Tan Weiye liked this polite and obedient boy, who was much more adorable than Xing Feng in his opinion.

"Really? That's great. With proper training, he'll be another young talent someday. Haha…all-attribute superfunction possessor. Good, that's good."

Tan Jianting looked up and laughed heartily as if Chenchen were his biological great-grandson. It was not a surprise that he liked Chenchen so much. Everyone loved Chenchen, except for the Zhous, who were a bunch of idiots.

"Grandpa Tan, don't just talk. Drink some chicken soup. It was cooked with wild chicken and mushroom picked on the mountain. It's nutritious."

Both Xing Feng and Yun Che were happy to see that Tan Jianting liked Chenchen, but they didn't forget to urge the old man to eat the food. Yun Che had only been in the coastal base for two hours, but he liked what he saw here. Admiral Tan genuinely cared about his people, and for that, Yun Che respected this old man. If he hadn't permanently settled down in the southwest base, he might consider living here. With Tan Jianting as the base commander, Yun Che believed the coastal base would have a bright future.

"You can go into the mountains? I heard that the mutant beasts are scary."

Tan Weiye looked up from the food and asked in surprise. Tan Jianting was surprised as well, but he didn't say anything as he was struggling to eat with the only arm he had.

"Well, the mutant beasts are indeed scary, but Heiyu can scare them away."

Yun Che knew they had misunderstood his words, but he didn't want to clarify for now. He already expressed his goodwill of joining forces. Whether he would reveal more information to them depended on what kind of relationship they had in the future.

"Just like that thing before?"

Tan Weiye's hand stiffened a bit, and his lips twitched involuntarily. He still found it hard to believe that they had a super zombie in their squad. A zombie addressed as "super zombie" must be at least level-6, right?

"Pretty much like that."

Yun Che didn't know how to explain, but he believed they would have a chance to see Heiyu's "ability" with their own eyes very soon.

"Great-grandpa, would you like me to help you?"

Chenchen, who had finished his food, crawled over under the bed table and looked at Tan Jianting with a sweet look. Surprised, the old man handed Chenchen his soup bowl. "Yes, please."

"Uh-huh!"

Chenchen stood up to hold the soup bowl. He tore off a piece of meat, put it in the spoon, and fed it to the old man along with some soup. Tan Jianting opened his mouth to eat the food with a bright smile. "It's delicious. Thanks, Chenchen."

Having been praised, Chenchen fed Tan Jianting more actively. After Tan Jianting finished the chicken leg, Chenchen mixed some soup into the rice and fed Tan Jianting two bowls of rice. Tan Weiye felt touched involuntarily. He knew his grandfather hadn't had a good meal ever since the doomsday started. Tan Jianting had been thinking about the base and the people every day and night.

"Grandpa, why don't you just take Yun Che as your god-grandson? In that case, Chenchen will officially become your great-grandson."

Tan Weiye suggested that on a whim, but he soon found it a clever idea. Because he was gay, his grandfather would never have a biological grandson. Chenchen was adorable, and his grandpa liked him. What's more, Yun Che was Xing Feng's spouse. With the Tans backing him up, when Yun Che went to the capital with Xing Feng, Xing's family wouldn't dare to be picky. The idea he had just come up with was brilliant and mutually beneficial.

"What?"

Tan Jianting, Xing Feng, Yun Che were all surprised. But it didn't take long before Xing Feng realized that it was a great idea. If Yun Che became Admiral Tan's grandson, they would have a stronger partnership with the coastal base. On top of that, he trusted Tan Weiye and Tan Jianting.

"Sounds good to me. What do you think, Che?"

After a while, Tan Jianting shifted his gaze from Chenchen to Yun Che and laughed. It was not bad to have another grandson. He liked Yun Che and he trusted Xing Feng's taste.

"Grandpa!" This was Yun Che's answer.

Yun Che shared the same thoughts with Xing Feng. But more importantly, he respected Tan Jianting. This man deserved to be his grandfather.

"Haha… Now, I've got two brothers and a nephew. Well, Xing Feng, from now on, you should follow Yun Che and call me Elder Brother."

Thinking that he had got the better of Xing Feng, Tan Weiye was gloating.

"Well, about that, Mingxuan is pursuing Che's elder sister, which means he might become your elder brother-in-law someday. You'll need to follow Mingxuan and call me Boss."

"What?"

Tan Weiye was stunned. Why was he so pathetic? His happiness only lasted no more than three seconds.

"Haha…"

Everyone in the ward laughed, including Chenchen, who didn't understand what they were talking about. Poor Tan Weiye, it seemed that he would never get the better of Xing Feng.