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“Yao Yao, about you and that Commander Gu…”
Chen Baozhen dragged Qin Yao to the balcony of the second-floor master bedroom. The evening breeze carried away the tension from the dining table. Commander Gu’s voice, laced with gritted teeth, had an imposing presence that could fill the room. Despite her dislike for him, Chen Baozhen secretly feared Commander Gu.
His scolding words were as biting as shards of ice, sending chills down one’s spine.
Chen Baozhen preferred straightforward and rugged men like Gao Jianguo and Zhao Mingjin. They were sunny, upright, and strong. Compared to them, Doctor He seemed a bit frail. Around these three men, she could joke and laugh freely.
But Commander Gu was different. He was like an icicle hanging from the eaves of a northern winter—beautiful to look at, but liable to fall and leave you bleeding.
No matter how icy he appeared, he was still a lecher at heart!
Chen Baozhen speculated that Commander Gu had developed feelings for her best friend, Yao Yao, because she had slimmed down and turned into an extraordinary beauty.
Qin Yao clarified, “We still aren’t officially dating. I’m still assessing him.”
“Assessing?” Chen Baozhen chewed on the word thoughtfully. “I get it. This is your way of stalling. Yao Yao, are you scared of him?”
“If he dares to force you, we’ll fight back until the end!”
Qin Yao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She thought to herself, How could he ever force me? If anything, I’m the one forcing him.
“I’m not afraid of him.”
Chen Baozhen shook her head. “Don’t tell me you’ve started liking him? I mean, it makes sense. Commander Gu has a great family background, looks outstanding, and is exceptionally capable at work. If you truly like him, I wouldn’t blame you. But compared to Comrade Zhou and Doctor He, being with him might mean enduring some grievances.”
“Nothing is set in stone yet.”
Qin Yao originally wanted to tell Chen Baozhen the truth about her interactions with Gu Cheng. However, she thought about the three-line love poem tucked in a candy box and the polka-dotted apron she had forced him to wear earlier. It was all too embarrassing!
Compared to others in this era who approached dating and matchmaking seriously, their dynamic was far from proper.
Qin Yao cared about her image and couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“If Commander Gu is sincere, he’d make a good match. But Yao Yao, I need to tell you something.” Chen Baozhen pressed her lips together, clearly distressed. The wind tousled her hair into a chaotic mess resembling a bird’s nest.
She tucked her hair behind her ears, but the loose strands on her cheeks kept brushing against her jawline, leaving her feeling irritable and distracted.
“Zhou Fangyu has returned. He’s now a doctor at the military hospital here. Since you just came back, you probably don’t know. Once you start working at the hospital, you’ll see him.” As she spoke, Chen Baozhen reached out to grab Qin Yao’s hand.
Zhou Fangyu was the man Qin Yao had secretly admired in the past. Much older than her, he had grown up in the same compound and had always been the model child others admired. After graduating, he became a military doctor.
He had a childhood sweetheart, his fiancée Zeng Manli. The two grew up together, often arguing and making up, and eventually got engaged. When Zhou Fangyu and Zeng Manli announced their engagement, Qin Yao cried heavily. For days, she even ate extra steamed buns to cope.
Zeng Manli, known for her fiery temper, frequently fought with Zhou Fangyu. Even after their engagement, they had countless arguments. During one particularly bad fight, Qin Yao foolishly approached Zhou Fangyu and asked if he could wait for her to grow up so she could marry him when she turned eighteen.
Zhou Fangyu gently rejected her but remained kind. He didn’t avoid Qin Yao’s attention and even accepted gifts from her, like handkerchiefs and snacks.
Although Qin Yao was on the chubby side, she was undeniably beautiful. Some teased her about her weight, but many praised her for her looks.
Zeng Manli, however, felt threatened. After a heated argument with Zhou Fangyu, the two reconciled, but Zeng Manli mocked Qin Yao in the compound, calling her a pig and saying she was a toad lusting after a swan. She cruelly suggested that Qin Yao should take a good look at herself.
Mother Zeng often made sarcastic remarks toward Qin Yao’s mother. Qin Yao’s parents eventually agreed to send her south, hoping she could marry a military officer who was just as good, if not better, than Zhou Fangyu.
Unexpectedly, fate had other plans. After only a few months, Zhou Fangyu was transferred here due to personnel adjustments.
Chen Baozhen was eager to help Qin Yao choose a partner, hoping she wouldn’t end up at a disadvantage. Both Doctor He and Zhou Mingjin were excellent choices, equal to or better than Zhou Fangyu.
Qin Yao had been stunning even at 140 pounds, and her only flaw was her weight. Now that she had slimmed down, she was far more beautiful than Zeng Manli. Chen Baozhen worried that Qin Yao might act irrationally and get entangled with either Zhou Fangyu or Zeng Manli again.
“Commander Gu only has a bad temper. Otherwise, he’s perfect. If Zhou Fangyu and Zeng Manli find out he’s pursuing you, they might die of anger. Our Yao Yao deserves the best.”
“Doctor He, Xiao Zhou, or Commander Gu—you can pick any of them,” Chen Baozhen said passionately.
Qin Yao couldn’t help but laugh. She remembered who Zhou Fangyu was. In the original novel, the original owner of her body, who was Chen Baozhen’s outrageous best friend, had been a “doormat” chasing after two men. She had gone on a matchmaking date with an older regiment commander while flirting ambiguously with Zhou Fangyu during his arguments with his fiancée. Eventually, Zeng Manli publicly humiliated her, making her the laughingstock of the compound.
Qin Yao smiled and said, “Then I’ll choose Commander Gu. He’s good-looking and obedient.”
Chen Baozhen was stunned. ???!!!”
Obedient?
My good sister, what kind of spell has bewitched you?
Downstairs, Gao Jianguo and Gu Cheng were drinking and eating peanuts. Tonight’s dinner had been prepared for six people, but with two men absent, there was plenty of food left.
The awkwardness at the dining table earlier prevented them from talking much. Now that the women were upstairs, the men began chatting about more private topics.
After a cup of hot liquor, Gao Jianguo sighed. “Commander Gu, I honestly didn’t expect you’d have feelings for Xiao Qin.”
“You fell for her just because she slimmed down and got prettier?”
“What if she gains the weight back? Doctor He wouldn’t mind if she gained twenty or thirty pounds. You should think carefully and stay rational.”
Although Qin Yao was Chen Baozhen’s best friend, Gao Jianguo believed that Commander Gu wasn’t the right match for her. From his perspective, Qin Yao would have a happier life married to Doctor He. Commander Gu’s cold and distant demeanor toward women would make any marriage with him difficult.
“Feelings should follow a proper sequence. Don’t act on impulse.”
Commander Gu replied coldly, “I met her first.”
“You mean the time she came over to my house for dinner? That doesn’t count. That was not a proper matchmaking date.”
Gu Cheng chuckled coldly. Who wasn’t on a proper matchmaking date? Even if it was, I was there first.
“Earlier than that,” Gu Cheng said, crossing his arms. He then recounted how he first met his beloved girl. “We boarded the same ship to the island.”
Gao Jianguo was stunned. He hadn’t expected Commander Gu and Qin Yao to have met before. “Back at my house, you two didn’t seem like you knew each other.”
“She’s pretending,” Gu Cheng spoke casually, recalling the embellished past. “The weather was bad back then, the ship stopped, and it started raining heavily. She begged me to help her carry her luggage back to the guesthouse.”
“We shared an umbrella, and she even fed me some candy.”
As he spoke, the memories brought a sweet feeling to Gu Cheng’s heart. He pushed aside the embarrassing history of pretending to be a fishing company employee, and focused only on the sweet moments.
He ran his fingers over his lips, lost in the memories. “At first, I didn’t want to agree, but she was so cute, acting spoiled and insisting I send her.”
“On the ship, she fell asleep on my shoulder, and we even looked at the stars together on the deck…”
“This is destiny,” Gu Cheng continued, becoming more animated as he spoke. These memories had been bottled up for so long, and now, finally, he had someone to share them with.
When he finished speaking, he glanced at Gao Jianguo, only to find him frozen, holding a wine glass, looking like he had lost his soul.
Gao Jianguo was used to seeing Commander Gu’s serious and stern side, even when he was on a blind date with a woman. He never showed much expression. But now, seeing him speak of the past with such emotion, Gao Jianguo couldn’t help but notice the dreamy look on his face, which sent a chill down his spine.
It was a pity there was no mirror. Gu Cheng didn’t realize how he looked.
Gu Cheng was truly moved.
“No wonder, no wonder Xiao Qin was in the kitchen just now…” Gao Jianguo unconsciously said, then realized his mistake. He gave Commander Gu a strange look. “Commander Gu, just now, with that red polka-dot apron… Even if my wife told me to wear it, I’d never agree to it.”
Gu Cheng’s expression darkened instantly, his face as grim as a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His mood was cold and rebellious as he nonchalantly said, “I didn’t want to listen to their noise. It was annoying.”
How could he possibly listen to a woman, accept a woman’s threats, and be so happy just because he was kissed?
He rubbed his chin, still savoring the memory.
“Broad-minded,” Gao Jianguo nodded. This was the Commander Gu he was familiar with.
Gu Cheng is better off than him, but if he can marry Qin Yao, he will be much better off than Doctor He and Zhao Mingjin. He does not have the kind of appearance that Chen Baozhen likes, and he does not have the attentiveness and consideration of Doctor He.
Compared to Gu Cheng, he was a true good husband in marriage.
The only problem was that Qin Yao might suffer a bit. He and Chen Baozhen would have to help smooth things over.
No matter what, Gao Jianguo always thought he was better at taking care of women than Gu Cheng.
After the man and woman finished chatting alone, Chen Baozhen and Gao Jianguo and his wife exchanged private words on the first floor. Gu Cheng headed upstairs to the guest room. Qin Yao was staying there tonight, and after two days, she would officially start her job at the military hospital and move into the dormitory.
After all these days, this was the first time they were alone in a room with no one else around.
Usually calm and composed, Gu Cheng had only dared to hold her hand secretly before. But now, he couldn’t hold back anymore and embraced his beloved girl from behind.
Holding her close, he inhaled the scent of her shampoo and soap from her neck. It was the sweetest, most comforting fragrance in the world. She was incredibly soft, and Gu Cheng felt as if he were drowning in warm, gentle waves. Even if death came the next moment, he wouldn’t want to break free.
This was the sweetest “storm” he had ever encountered in his life.
The soft, fragrant girl in his arms made everything else irrelevant.
He just wanted to hold her forever.
The feeling of claiming her was so delightful.
Qin Yao struggled for a moment in his embrace, but she couldn’t break free. She felt helpless. Outside, he was all stern and dignified, but behind closed doors, he acted like a big puppy, holding her and sniffing her, making her feel ticklish.
“It’s so ticklish. Stop it,” Qin Yao said, raising her hand to gently tap his head.
Gu Cheng spoke in a low voice, “Yao Yao, when I go back later, I’ll report our relationship.”
In this era, no matter where you worked, dating had to be reported to the unit, and even marriage needed approval.
Qin Yao reminded him, “The three-month trial period isn’t over yet.”
“We’ll report the marriage after the trial period is over.”
Qin Yao: “…”
“Dating without marriage in mind is just fooling around.”
Qin Yao tried to reason with him, “Don’t be so high-profile. Think it through. Let’s keep things the same as before, and don’t let others know. If things don’t work out after the three months, I don’t want to delay finding someone else.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Gu Cheng was immediately stirred up, wanting to announce to the world that he was in a relationship with Qin Yao.
Only now did Gu Cheng realize how foolish he had been in the past.
If he had declared his sovereignty earlier, why would he need others to give him wedding candy? She was his chosen one, how could he let her slip away?
Qin Yao smiled, “Then go ahead and confess to Head Nurse Ge what you’ve done.”
Gu Cheng: “…”
The debts of the past years would have to be repaid eventually.
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Ayalee[Translator]
。˚🐈⬛.𖥔 ݁ ˖