The sun was shining brightly, and the South Sea was unbelievably beautiful. The waters were calm, and Qin Yao and the others were allowed to go up on deck to stretch their legs.

Their speed had slowed, and two small fishing boats approached. The salty scent of the sea filled the air.

The sky was a soft blue, and the water below was a vibrant mix of blues, even with a greenish tint. As the boat drew near, it seemed as though invisible fishing nets were encircling the lively fish and shrimp.

Boredom turned into relaxation.

The fishing boats belonged to a sea-based production team. Their boats were small, with limited fuel and fresh water, and they had come to trade fish for fresh water.

Qin Yao saw barrel after barrel of sea cucumbers and other unknown fish. Sea cucumbers, theoretically, should be worth a lot in the future, but right now they aren’t worth much. It was said that the comrades stationed at the reefs in the South Sea were moved to tears when they ate them.

Today, the cooks on the ship were preparing a large pot of sea cucumber stew.

Qin Yao stood by the side, watching the commotion. Little did she know, she had become a spectacle for many. A young girl in her twenties, with jet-black braids, fair skin, and a face glowing as the wind blew through her hair, she appeared almost radiant.

At this time, the atmosphere was quite conservative. Most of the male comrades didn’t dare to stare directly at her. They only stole glances with the corner of their eyes. Whenever their gazes met, they would cough awkwardly and not speak to each other.

After exchanging goods, the ship resumed its course. The fishing boats seemed reluctant to part, and threw fish toward the ship enthusiastically.

Qin Yao, still standing there, watching the commotion, was suddenly hit on the head by a fish.

The fish was still alive. It landed in her arms and flopped, splashing her with its tail. The slippery, fishy smell of the sea lingered in the air, and she could almost taste the salty sea water.

Qin Yao: “!”

Qin Yao stared at the fish flopping on the deck, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Could this be considered a work injury?

Behind her, a muffled laugh was heard. Qin Yao turned around and caught sight of Gu Cheng, dressed in a dark blue uniform.

The dark blue color was slightly dull. Gu Cheng had his back to the others, struggling to suppress his laughter. He looked much younger than usual, his face appearing almost boyish, or more precisely, like a younger brother.

He was undeniably handsome, but when he smiled, he looked even more youthful.

Only when he forced himself to adopt a serious expression, with a cold gaze, did he give off the vibe of a refined leader.

Qin Yao met his gaze and, inwardly, cried out for help. She couldn’t help but feel a little stir in her heart.

If Commander Gu had used this smile to propose marriage to her back then, she would have never been able to reject him.

This was her ideal little brother of the fishing company.

Gu Cheng relaxed his body, put on a mask, and slightly bent over. His loose, plain work clothes had no insignia, and unless you looked closely, it was hard to tell who he was.

He gestured for her to come over, and the two of them went to a corner. He handed her a package.

Qin Yao opened it and found canned goods, milk candies, and chocolate—likely someone’s stash.

Qin Yao didn’t bother to be polite with him. She peeled a candy and fed it to herself and then gave one to the young man in front of her.

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly and, though he was frowning, ate the candy.

The milk flavor melted in his mouth, and he thought to himself that he had truly lost his mind. He had canned goods and chocolate, but he didn’t have the sweet milk candy. He had exchanged this milk candy with someone with a cold face.

Qin Yao’s eyes curved as she smiled gently. “Thank you.”

“Yaoyao,” Gu Cheng’s voice was hoarse. “Date me.”

He didn’t look directly at her when he spoke, his face slightly turned to the side, his expression blank. But, unintentionally, he exposed his ear to Qin Yao.

At first, Qin Yao thought his confession lacked sincerity. But in the next moment, she saw his ears turn bright red, like a boiled shrimp.

She took a small step forward, tilted her head, and walked in front of him, tugging at his arm.

Gu Cheng looked down at her, his face slightly tilted, his expression indifferent, his gaze cold.

Qin Yao couldn’t help but want to laugh. This guy in front of her had a completely fake expression, but his ears were being honest.

It was so awkward.

She suppressed the urge to check his favorability.

“I’ll think about it,” Qin Yao said, trying to hold back her impulse to agree. Gu Cheng using such a pure, younger brother-like approach to confess was too unfair.

Her heart was racing, and her thoughts were jumbled. Qin Yao was afraid it was just a temporary emotional response. She liked this version of Commander Gu, but she had no feelings for the cold Commander Gu she knew.

Moreover, they weren’t really familiar with each other yet.

Gu Cheng forced a neutral face and said, “How long do you need to think about it? Give me a deadline.”

“Three months for a trial period,” Qin Yao replied.

Gu Cheng nodded, then stretched his voice to add, “During this period, you’re not allowed to agree to date anyone else.”

He glared at Qin Yao with a hint of resentment and warning.

A certain Commander Gu didn’t want to receive a third box of wedding candy.

Qin Yao nodded, curiosity shining in her eyes. “The person that Head Nurse Ge introduced to me that day wasn’t you, right?”

“You came on your own initiative?”

Qin Yao recalled the whole matchmaking event, which felt strange. She was sure Head Nurse Ge hadn’t expected to get Commander Gu involved in the matchmaking.

Commander Gu immediately denied it. “No.”

Qin Yao turned her face toward the ship’s cabin and replied coldly, “I only date honest men.”

“… Yes,” he muttered in a mosquito-like voice.

Qin Yao crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t your instructor teach you to speak up?”

Her words settled, and the surroundings fell silent. The sea breeze howled through the ship. Despite it being a sunny day, there was a chill in the air, and goosebumps appeared on Qin Yao’s arms.

Gu Cheng, still in his dark blue work clothes, gazed at her with eyes that seemed almost tangible, piercing her with their intensity.

He pressed his back against the ship’s wall, slightly bending his body to trap Qin Yao in a narrow corner, grinding his teeth. “Do you know which ship this is?”

“Who’s the instructor? Should I remind you?”

“Don’t get carried away just because I like you.”

Qin Yao glared at him, coldly replying, “No need for three months. I’ll give you my answer now. You, Commander Gu, failed the trial period. I won’t date you. When we get to the hospital, I’ll ask Head Nurse Ge to introduce me to someone else. I’ll find multiple suitors at once.”

“Other men are much braver than you. They wouldn’t be like you, a coward who’s too afraid to even tell others that they like me.”

Sending a love poem and still wearing a cold expression, looking guilty as if afraid someone would find out.

Qin Yao thought to herself that it was really over. She had decided long ago that she wouldn’t marry a bigoted, chauvinistic man like her mother did. She should firmly reject Gu Cheng.

But when Gu Cheng, with his handsome face, came to talk to her about dating, she couldn’t control her heart from racing.

“Here, take it back.” Qin Yao handed the bag back to him. “Commander Gu, let’s keep our distance. Don’t come and bother me again.”

Aside from this, she also returned the box of love poems to Gu Cheng and turned to head back to the medical room.

“Cutting off things decisively prevents complications.”

After handling everything, Qin Yao let out a sigh of relief. She was afraid of falling deeper into this mess, continuing to be entangled with Gu Cheng. She wasn’t the 18-year-old Qin Yao anymore. Before transmigrating, she was already 24, no longer impulsive like a teenager.

She had many views on marriage and the future. A man like Gu Cheng wasn’t her ideal choice for a partner.

Rationally, she should firmly reject him. She could even do it confidently in front of Head Nurse Ge.

But emotionally, her feelings weren’t fake. Her heart was racing. The closer he got, the faster it beat, as though it would jump out of her throat.

Was it impossible to stay away from him?

It would be best to cut ties early. Once she was off this ship and officially started working at the military hospital, there would be fewer chances to meet, and these random feelings would fade with time.

*

Gu Cheng sat in his room, his face dark. He lay back on the bed with his arm under his head.

Anger, shame, frustration… a multitude of emotions surged within him. He had never had to chase after women. In the past, many beautiful women had approached him willingly, and he was used to their flattering advances.

Now, he had taken the initiative, but this little girl was still oblivious.

He brooded for a while, then sat up, put on his hat, clenched his fists, and looked into the mirror. The man staring back had sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, with a determined and resolute look in his gaze.

— Commander Gu, don’t degrade yourself.

There were many women in the world. Would a man really die without a woman? When he was drifting at sea, were there any women around? It didn’t matter how many men she went on dates with. Whether she had ten or twenty dates had nothing to do with him.

With this firm resolve, Gu Cheng left the room. Not long after, he bumped into the cheerful Zhao Mingjin.

The department head had said he was shameless and quietly spoke to him, “Tsk tsk, you went to the medical room pretending to be sick again?”

“Commander Gu, why don’t you give him a chance? We should really try to help him and Nurse Qin get together. These unmarried young officers don’t have many opportunities to meet someone they truly like.”

“We’re comrades, helping each other out.”

It’s said that having good conditions doesn’t make finding a partner easy. Either you rely on family or the organization to introduce someone to you. Unlike young people in big cities who go to the movies, stroll through parks, or visit bookstores, they might run into someone for free love.

The department head teased Zhao Mingjin, who smiled and said, “I asked my friend’s sister, and she’s still single. I also heard something about Nurse Qin. She used to weigh over 150 pounds three months ago, but after some training, she’s lost a lot of weight.”

“140 pounds.”

A sudden voice interrupted.

The department head and Zhao Mingjin looked at Gu Cheng in confusion. He was expressionless, speaking indifferently, “Head Nurse Ge mentioned it.”

“Close enough,” the man said. Men weren’t particularly sensitive about women’s weight. For men, 140 to 150 pounds was normal, not a big deal.

Zhao Mingjin happily added, “A little extra weight is good. My parents always say that girls need a bit of flesh to be lucky. I don’t like skinny girls. My younger sister is too thin. She’s just a bunch of bones when I hug her.”

“In the future, if we have a daughter, I hope she’ll be chubby and cute like her mom.”

The department head replied, “That’s true.”

The sea journey had a shift system, and after the shift, there was really nothing to do. With no serious tasks, people tended to daydream and think about random things.

Zhao Mingjin thought for a while, “It’s the year of the rat, so we can start dating. Then, in the year of the ox, we’ll get married, and the year after that, we’ll have a little girl.”

The department head chuckled, “That’s a nice thought.”

“You have to plan for the long term.”

“That’s true.” The department head sighed, “A brave woman fears a persistent man. I wish you success.”

“Thanks.”

“Commander Gu, you heard it too. Say something nice.”

Gu Cheng remained silent, thinking to himself:

…I can be the shameless one too.