Third-Person POV
Being unable to have children is a serious problem. If Liz marries him, what will happen in the future?
"But…"
Grandpa said, "You should ask Liz first. If she doesn't agree, then as her grandpa, of course I'll protect her."
When he said this, he looked at Grandpa Zhou sitting in the living room. Grandpa Zhou looked back at him.
Grandpa Zhou heard everything clearly. He didn't argue or deny it, which meant he agreed.
"Alright then. If Liz agrees, I'll let Henry take leave and go to Haishi."
"I understand."
Grandpa ended the call, then looked at Grandpa Zhou. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Grandpa wasn't feeling good. If Grandpa Zhou hadn't given him such a strong guarantee, he wouldn't let his granddaughter marry into their family.
Grandpa Zhou said, "No, you didn't."
Grandpa snorted. "Hmph! Your Henry is already 30, while my granddaughter is only 23. That's an old cow eating young grass."
Grandpa Zhou replied, "If Liz is willing, then in the Zhou family, her word will be final."
Grandpa looked at him deeply. When he saw the sadness in Grandpa Zhou's eyes, his heart also felt heavy.
Among Grandpa Zhou's grandsons, the most capable was the eldest. But fate played a cruel joke on him.
The other three grandsons were decent, but even with many chances, they couldn't handle the Zhou family's responsibilities.
Only Henry had the decisiveness, strength, and leadership that far outshone others of his generation.
Except for the flaw of being unable to have children, there was no other shortcoming. He was a natural leader.
The Zhou family had been a military family for generations, clean and upright, never tainted by corruption. Because of this, they had remained strong and unshaken.
But among the grandsons, only Henry had the ability to carry on the family's honor. Yet the one person who could bear it couldn't have children. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
Grandpa Zhou didn't want Henry to live alone forever, so he personally came from the capital to Su City to ask for this marriage.
At first, Grandpa didn't agree either. But the Zhou family's promises were too tempting to ignore.
Grandpa didn't expect Liz to achieve great things. He only wanted her to live freely, without being burdened by life.
As for the Zhou family's future, that would be for later generations to handle.
At least right now, for both the Zhou family and the Xu family, this was a win-win choice.
Liz hugged a pillow as she sat on the sofa. Since the call had been in the living room, she and her mother heard everything that her father and grandpa had said.
"Liz, what do you think?"
System Chlo.8 spoke in her mind. "Host, this is the second person you can choose from—Henry!"
System Chlo.8 gave Liz the answer. Mateo and Henry were the two candidates for her mission, and she had to pick one of them as her future husband.
"Dad, what kind of person is Henry?" Liz asked.
Her parents looked at her. Since the Xu and Zhou families were longtime friends, they had met Henry before.
"He's calm, capable, decisive, and ruthless when needed. He's outstanding in every way."
"Other than being unable to have children, I have to admit he's excellent."
"He will definitely achieve something great in the future."
It was the first time her father praised someone so highly. Even his own son had never received such an evaluation.
"The Zhou family will be handed over to him one day. Aside from not having children, you won't suffer any grievance."
"Your grandpa already said, if you don't want this, he will protect you."
Liz's POV
Could I refuse? Of course not. This was one of my only two choices.
I really disliked how the Mateo family behaved, and I didn't want to marry into that family and deal with those kinds of in-laws.
At least if I married into the Zhou family, I would have Old Master Zhou's protection and enough respect.
"System Chlo.8, what's the situation with Henry?"
"Henry was diagnosed with azoospermia at 18. His chance of fathering a child is only 0.1%."
"So low?"
I hadn't expected his chances to be that tiny. Having a child with him was almost impossible.
"Exactly, that's why you need to do the mission."
"If I do get pregnant, won't he suspect I cheated?"
"Host, if he doubts you, just leave with the child. Our main goal is for you to have children. Whether the child's biological father matters or not is up to you."
Hearing this, I felt the system made sense. Our task was to have children. As long as I got pregnant, it didn't matter whether the father acknowledged the child.
"You're right."
I reached an agreement with System Chlo.8, then I told my parents what I thought.
"Dad, I'm willing."
"Liz, you really don't mind?"
"Dad, Mom, I'm not that old-fashioned. In other countries, plenty of people choose not to have kids.
"People only want children to have support when they're old. But since the Zhou family will one day be handed to Henry, I won't ever lack money in the future. I won't have problems with retirement. Besides, I have nephews and nieces."
After hearing this, my parents also thought what I said was reasonable. People had children mainly so they'd be cared for in old age. But if you had money and high status, what was there to worry about?
Plus, I had nephews and nieces and two elder brothers to back me up. So those worries really didn't matter.
"If you've really thought it through, I'll call your grandpa."
"Henry is in the north serving in the army. We'll need to arrange leave for him to come to Haishi."
My father worried I was acting on impulse. But I was firm. This was my mission target.
"Dad, Mom, I've really thought it through. As long as he has good character, is reliable, capable, responsible, and has reasonable parents, nothing else matters."
They saw my determination and knew I was serious.
"Alright, I'll call your grandpa."
My father called my grandfather. When the old man heard I agreed, he was shocked.
He had already planned out how to politely reject the Zhou family. But now? I agreed?
He looked nervously at his old friend. Old Master Zhou had heard everything and was grinning.
Grandpa Xu: "…"
Now what was he supposed to do?
After hanging up, Grandpa Xu sat down on the sofa, his face dark. Old Master Zhou, now taking the upper hand, poured him a cup of tea.
Third Person Pov
"Old Xu, from now on we'll be in-laws."
"Even closer than before, we'll be family."
"My little granddaughter only agreed to meet, marriage is still far away."
Grandpa Xu pushed back, while Grandpa Zhou calmly sat on the sofa looking at him, not bothering to expose his little hesitation.
"If your granddaughter really marries into our family, I, Old Zhou, will keep my promise."
Grandpa Xu glanced at him, then sighed. Since his granddaughter could accept that Henry couldn't have children, this was actually the best choice.
"The Zhou family will be her strongest support."
"You seem very sure my granddaughter will agree."
Grandpa Xu said this casually, but Grandpa Zhou put down his teacup and looked at him seriously.
"No, I know you. I know the kind of person you are. As for the children's marriage, whether it works or not depends on fate."
Hearing this, Grandpa Xu finally felt at ease. He couldn't bear seeing his old friend worrying every day. Still, he hoped the two children could decide for themselves.
"You're right."
He agreed, and the two old men reached an understanding. The rest depended on the youngsters.
Henry was under the blazing sun at the training ground, watching his soldiers. A messenger came and told him he had a phone call.
"Keep a close eye on the training."
With a cold face, he told the deputy commander, who quickly answered, "Yes, sir!"
The call was from Grandpa Zhou in Su City. When Henry heard about going to Hai City for a blind date, he couldn't help feeling annoyed.
"Grandpa, it's not necessary."
But no one knew him better than Grandpa Zhou, who immediately used his trump card.
"Liz."
Henry froze, about to hang up, but then stopped and put the phone back to his ear.
"Who did you say?"
"Your Grandpa Xu's little granddaughter, Liz. She doesn't mind that you can't have children, and the Xu family has agreed too. Everything that needed to be done, I've already done for you. Whether you go or not is your choice."
Henry said nothing, but Grandpa Zhou spoke plainly so his grandson wouldn't miss the chance.
"If you don't go this time, she will definitely marry someone else. Don't regret it later."
"What do you mean?"
Grandpa Zhou hung up without explaining, leaving Henry without the answer he wanted.
He stood still, looking down at the phone in his hand. Then he sighed, his voice full of helplessness and conflict.
"Liz..."
...
After dinner, Liz sneezed several times. Her mother worried she had caught a cold again and quickly made her a cup of brown sugar water.
"Are you sick again?"
Liz smiled as she took the cup, rubbing her nose. "Probably not. Maybe someone is talking about me."
"Maybe your grandparents."
Her mother sat beside her with a smile, while her father sat nearby reading the newspaper. It was the most relaxed moment at home in a long time.
"You've already reached the age to get married so quickly."
"Your dad and I still feel you haven't grown up, but time passes so fast."
"When you were little, you only reached our knees, holding a doll and following us around."
"By the way, you met Henry when you were a child, do you remember?"
Liz thought for a while but really had no memory of meeting him. She didn't remember much from her childhood.
"At that time he was already ten years old, and you liked to carry a little rabbit toy, following behind him."
"You kept calling him 'Brother Henry' every day. Your older brothers always got upset whenever they heard it."
"When he didn't let you follow, you cried, and you even liked to tattle."
Liz couldn't believe that she used to be like that, crying and tattling.
"How could I like tattling?"
"You didn't? In high school, when a classmate dirtied your clothes, you went and reported it to the teacher."
Her mother had never seen a child in high school still tattling, and she didn't just tell the teacher, but also the head teacher and even the dean.
"That's because he deliberately discriminated against me. Of course I reported it."
Liz didn't feel embarrassed at all. If students had conflicts, wasn't it best to let the teachers handle them?
"You just can't stand being wronged."
"With your temper, if you married into someone else's family, your dad and I would really worry."
Her father lifted his head from the newspaper and nodded in agreement. It was true.
On the outside, their daughter looked well-behaved and sensible, but inside she was a little proud and couldn't stand being bullied.
But this personality was also something they had indulged her into. Since her parents weren't often by her side when she was young, she had to be independent.
Some people might say she tattled too much, but in another way, if she hadn't stood up for herself, she could have been bullied at school.
Being a little proud and spoiled wasn't a problem, as long as her values were right. A stronger temper could even prevent unnecessary conflicts.
"Mom, whatever you say is right."
Liz understood clearly who the real authority in the house was. Even though her father was a leader at work, at home he still listened to her mother.
No matter how powerful he looked outside, at home he was a strict but caring husband.
"Of course. I've eaten more salt than the roads you've walked."
Her mother had lived long enough to understand everything. Whether she wanted to see through things or not was always her choice.
Many times it was better if she was willing, but even if not, that was fine too.
Her mother shared many life lessons with her, and Liz listened seriously, never dismissing her parents' words.
"In life, we can't avoid sacrificing ourselves for family or children, giving up careers and opportunities."
"Your dad and I just hope you can at least live freely, not held back too much by life."
"This sounds ordinary, but it's actually the hardest thing to achieve."
Liz nodded, filled with emotions and touched in her heart. Her parents were open-minded and wise, and she benefited so much from them.
What people really wanted was freedom. On the surface, freedom seemed to be in one's control, but everyone had people and responsibilities they couldn't abandon.
The things she had been reluctant to face before now felt lighter.
"Host, are you thinking about the parents from your past life?"
"Yes, but now I've figured it out."