Chen Baozhen and Gao Jianguo had no idea that the man Qin Yao had gone on a blind date with was Gu Cheng. Qin Yao hadn’t mentioned it because she didn’t want it to become a big news, especially since she still intended to work at the military hospital.

Head Nurse Ge and Nurse Xiao Ma also kept it quiet, so only a few people knew about it.

Now, faced with Zhou Jingjing, who knew nothing, Qin Yao couldn’t hold it in any longer and jokingly mentioned it.

She knew Zhou Jingjing wouldn’t believe it.

Sure enough, Zhou Jingjing burst into laughter. “Yaoyao, you won’t believe it, but I’m already a mother of three.”

The two of them laughed together.

Qin Yao felt a little awkward when she saw Gu Cheng, but when he wasn’t around, it didn’t bother her much. After all, men and women were different, and what could Gu Cheng possibly do to her?

Even now, Qin Yao still didn’t fully understand what kind of man Gu Cheng was, but considering his age and position, he probably wasn’t a petty man.

For him, she was probably just a minor, insignificant episode in his life.

From then on, Qin Yao stopped running into the “Chief Instructor” by accident. She ran under the setting sun, her chubby figure undoubtedly cute, but she couldn’t wait to shed the extra weight and return to a more graceful figure.

Gu Cheng stood on the third floor, watching her run.

In the setting sun, she resembled a little, struggling swallow, while other swallows flew effortlessly in and out, migrating south in winter and north in summer. But she, this little chubby swallow, seemed to be stuck in one place, going around in circles.

To Gu Cheng, Qin Yao’s running was painfully slow, almost as if she wasn’t meeting the standard. Why was she running? He never thought she would last this long.

He remembered how she had looked on the boat, her expression dim. Was she concerned about others mocking her weight?

Since that day, Qin Yao had stopped getting too close to him.

Was it because she was insecure about her body and afraid that others would think she wasn’t good enough for him?

After running, Qin Yao wiped the sweat from her face, admitting that the post-run feeling, drenched in sweat, was like detoxing—it felt great. She was about to stretch when a tall figure appeared before her.

It was Gu Cheng.

She hadn’t intended to bump into the Chief Instructor, yet he had bumped into her.

Gu Cheng’s face remained cold and unreadable. He didn’t speak, just handed her a folded piece of white paper.

Confused, Qin Yao took it. Gu Cheng glanced at her, then walked away.

“A man who comes and goes like the wind,” Qin Yao muttered, shaking her head. She wondered if her best friend had asked Gu Cheng to look out for her.

Qin Yao grabbed a towel to wipe her face and unfolded the white paper. She was stunned when she saw the three lines written on it.

“Twenty-eight, not yet a full circle.”

“You’re like the stars in the sea.”

“I see you every night.”

Qin Yao stared at it in confusion. It felt like the paper wasn’t light and flimsy, but instead heavy, like a hot potato.

As the sky darkened, even with the nightlight on, everything seemed blurry and unclear. Qin Yao couldn’t believe her eyes, so she walked under the light, rubbed her eyes, and read the three lines again. The words didn’t disappear.

The first sentence made sense to her, but the last two seemed increasingly surreal.

The handwriting was in a standard printed style of the time, and it was almost impossible to tell who had written it. It was very different from the signature Gu Cheng had given her last time.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he had handed it to her personally, the first sentence indicating his identity, Qin Yao would never have thought these words came from him.

After a shower and changing into fresh clothes, Qin Yao sat in the large classroom for her night class, still unsure about what the white paper meant.

Could it be what she was thinking?

Had Gu Cheng written her a love letter? Oh no, a love poem!

Qin Yao glanced at the three lines again. She didn’t feel any sweetness but she felt an eerie chill.

She turned to Zhou Jingjing and asked, “Do I look like a star in the sea?”

“Is it really so annoying to see each other every night?”

Zhou Jingjing asked, confused: “Qin Yao, are you a mermaid?”

Qin Yao: “…”

After that day, Qin Yao ran into Gu Cheng a few more times, and each time she received a new note from the cold-faced instructor.

The note was folded several times, and in the large empty space in the center, there were only three lines of printed small text.

The last one said:

“A swallow flew into my dream.”

“It got soaked in the rain.”

“It landed on my shoulder.”

This time, it said:

“The tide rises and falls.”

“Your footprints cover the beach.”

“Can’t be washed away.”

…

Was he some kind of stream-of-consciousness romantic poet of the new era? The words were straightforward, to the point of giving her goosebumps.

After nearly three months of training, the accumulated notes could fill a small candy box.

Qin Yao didn’t stop him. She just wanted to see how awkward his next sentence could be.

Every time they met, he would wear a cold expression, like a detached young boy, tossing a coin into the “piggy bank” that was her, Qin Yao.

Qin Yao kept the notes, stubbornly refusing to check Gu Cheng’s favorability for her over the past three months.

Maybe she was afraid of something.

She was really afraid of discovering that it was a negative number again.

Something like, “He suspects you are a spy and uses bait to lure you in.”

Or, “This girl doesn’t reply to my messages. Once she’s hooked, I’ll toy with her feelings.”

…

Normal people wouldn’t write such love poems in printed text. If Gu Cheng didn’t admit it, no one could pin the notes on him.

Such a sly man.

*

With the desk lamp on, all of Gu Cheng’s brain cells were fighting. He had always been sharp, with an excellent memory. He couldn’t say that he had a photographic memory, but it was almost there.

Especially after joining the army, he received special shorthand training, and thousands of equipment model parameters were remembered very firmly and clearly in his mind. He could be said to be a “living textbook”.

He had always trusted his mind, but recently, he felt powerless.

No matter how complicated the data, he could remember it all. But why couldn’t he string together three simple sentences?

“What’s going on in a woman’s mind?”

Why did this girl remain indifferent even after receiving so many notes from him? She accepted them every time without refusing.

As Gao Jianguo would say, after hearing so many “sweet words,” the beautiful village girls didn’t ask for anything and still married second-rate men and had kids.

Though he didn’t sing it, wasn’t writing it the same?

Gu Cheng rubbed his forehead, thinking hard. After much effort, he finally came up with three sentences. He wrote them down and looked around to ensure no one was around. The place was silent, and no one was in sight.

He sighed in relief. His face remained cold as ice, but his ears burned red with embarrassment.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

“Commander Gu, you’ve been working too hard lately,” The person outside the door said with concern. In the past, Gu Cheng always looked calm and at ease when facing any major task, but during this period, he showed a solemn look from time to time, which made people worry about his health.

“Cough——” Gu Cheng pretended to cough.

“Commander Gu, you’re not young anymore. You’re not like those seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys. Take good care of your health.”

Gu Cheng’s face darkened.

Was he that old?

*

The short-term training was over, and Qin Yao had lost weight. Her figure had become slim and well-proportioned. Her small face, palm-sized, had become a little darker, but she was still the fairest among the girls. With her striking features and wearing a simple sailor uniform, she looked incredibly beautiful.

Instructor Li had watched Qin Yao’s transformation during this time. She thought it was a miracle, and she had seen the girl’s hard work and sweat. When the final scores came out, Qin Yao ranked first.

Whether it was physical fitness, academic performance, or professional courses, Qin Yao might not have been the best in any single category, but she excelled in everything and had the highest overall score.

Indeed, she was a girl from a big city. Her academic scores were the best, followed by her professional courses, and her physical fitness was slightly lacking. But she had lost a lot of weight!

She had gone from being a plump beauty in the Tang Dynasty to a graceful and stunning woman.

Many people in the training area had heard of Qin Yao’s reputation, and some male soldiers came to see what she looked like.

“Qin Yao, you really are a miracle.”

Zhou Jingjing exaggerated, “If I hadn’t seen your transformation with my own eyes these past two months, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“We’ve all gotten uglier, but you’ve gotten prettier!”

Qin Yao couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

The two were chatting and laughing when, not far away, Tian Shuyun threw her mirror aside. She had the lowest overall score. If it weren’t for her cousin intervening, she would have been disqualified.

The others who had been accepted began to prepare for their shifts at the military hospital, while Qin Yao, with her top score, and the girl who came in second, were about to board a training ship to complete a transportation mission. They weren’t clear on the details of the task, but they were to stay in the medical room with the senior military doctor to learn some maritime medical knowledge.

Qin Yao used her “X-ray” ability from the favorability system to help her with practical medical training. At first, she found it difficult to watch, but she eventually got used to it, looking at internal organs without batting an eye.

However, her “X-ray” ability didn’t last long. Now, she only had two hours left, and she needed to stay with Chen Baozhen to extend the duration.

Qin Yao had thought about conquering another person to the level of 80 or 90 to get the favorability gift, but is there really such a good thing as “treating everyone equally” in the world?

Chen Baozhen regarded her as her best friend, but as her circle of good friends expanded, could the previous friendships still be maintained? There aren’t that many good things where people can sleep peacefully together.

It’s better to focus on maintaining this friendship.

Qin Yao didn’t want to overly rely on a so-called “golden finger.” She preferred to believe in her own abilities. The skills she had learned belonged to her, could never be taken away, and would always stay with her, without any time limit.

The sea breeze blew strongly. Qin Yao changed into a new sailor uniform—white on top, blue on the bottom, with baggy pants and a pullover-style shirt. The collar was a bit tight, but the outfit was comfortable and provided a sense of security, making movement easy.

Now, Qin Yao theoretically knew how to turn her pants into a life-saving ring. She always had a swimming ring with her, and whenever she boarded a ship, it provided her with some psychological comfort, making her feel safer, knowing she wouldn’t fall into the sea.

If she did fall into the sea, relying on swimming alone wouldn’t save her. Her dog-paddle might only help her take off her pants to use as a flotation device.

Though it doesn’t sound elegant, in an emergency, she’d do whatever it took to survive.

She boarded the ship with another young girl, Zhang Yufei. On deck, there was a row of people standing, and Qin Yao saluted the military man at the front. He returned the salute.

The sea breeze lifted the hem of his white uniform, and Qin Yao looked at him with a blank expression, wanting to mutter a word: Pretentious.