Although it was already winter by the month, the island was still sunny and bright, entering the best season of the year—a warm winter. The daytime temperature was above 20°C, neither too cold nor too hot, so people wore light clothing. By evening, it would get a bit chilly, so a coat was needed to block the wind.

Qin Yao had worked a night shift, and the coldest times of the day were around one or two in the morning and during the early sunrise hours. The cold wind howled outside, making people shiver. However, during the day, the sun still smiled as brightly as in midsummer.

The greenery was lush, with large banana leaves hanging down, and the hospital walls were covered in ivy.

Qin Yao hated working night shifts. When she first joined the hospital, it wasn’t to be a nurse but to work in the hospital’s publicity office. Right now, she was waiting to see if the articles she helped Head Nurse Ge write would earn her a chance.

As the year-end approached, a time when personnel changes were frequent, Qin Yao had been waiting for an opportunity.

Yesterday, after her night shift, Qin Yao took advantage of the quiet morning to call her family. After a few beeps, the call was cut off. Not long after, her phone rang again. She picked it up, and her mother, Shen Guixiang’s, voice came through the receiver.

“Yaoyao, is something wrong? Why are you calling back?” Shen Guixiang’s voice was full of urgency and concern.

Qin Yao’s heart warmed. She smiled and said, “Mom, I’ve sent a batch of local specialties back home.”

“Oh, I see.” Shen Guixiang pressed her lips together, then cautiously asked, “Yaoyao, will you be coming home for the New Year?”

Qin Yao replied, “I’ll be back before New Year.”

“Will Xiao Gu be coming with you?”

Qin Yao paused for a moment. “He should be.”

Unknowingly, the three-month probation period was about to end. Gu Cheng had already made thorough preparations. With the New Year approaching, he planned to submit a report about their marriage and take time off around the holidays. After meeting both sets of parents, they would then arrange their wedding celebration.

“Hehe, that’s wonderful! What does Xiao Gu like to eat? Let your dad prepare in advance,” Shen Guixiang said, beaming. She and her husband knew that Qin Yao was dating a military officer with the surname Gu and planned to get married by the end of the year. Both families would be in the capital for the holidays, which was the perfect opportunity for them to meet and finalize the wedding.

Shen Guixiang didn’t dare ask too much about her future son-in-law, fearing that she might annoy her daughter or interfere with their relationship.

This Xiao Gu was a proper military officer from the capital, so there was nothing to criticize. Shen Guixiang didn’t feel her family’s conditions were poor. In fact, she was eager to show off in front of her future son-in-law’s family.

After all, they had raised such a plump and fair daughter. How could their family’s conditions be bad? The only problem was their cramped living situation.

Qin Yao replied, “He likes to eat meat.”

“Of course, men all love meat,” Shen Guixiang chuckled, covering her mouth. In her mind, she pictured her daughter and son-in-law. Qin Yao was fair and chubby, although she had likely gotten a little tanned on the island, but that wasn’t a problem.

Her future son-in-law, Xiao Gu, must be a tall, sturdy man from the north, just as Qin Yao had said. He was probably around 1.8 meters tall and weighed at least 200 pounds. He was strong and broad like a bear—just the type to make a woman feel safe.

The surname “Gu” sounded like “gu,” which meant he must be big and strong—how could he possibly be thin?

Even if he wasn’t 200 pounds, he must weigh around 180 pounds. Together, they’d be over 300 pounds.

If this son-in-law wasn’t 200 pounds, she’d make sure he ate enough over the New Year to show him what motherly love really meant.

“Yaoyao, how much does Xiao Gu weigh? Has he gained any weight recently?” Shen Guixiang asked.

Qin Yao replied helplessly, “He might have gained some weight.”

Shen Guixiang didn’t care much about her son-in-law’s family background. She was more concerned with whether he had put on weight, much like a farmer worried about the pigs they raised. She wished she could weigh him every day to see the number go up, so her heart could be at ease.

If one day she met Gu Cheng in person, she suspected that Shen Guixiang wouldn’t be satisfied with him, probably complaining that he was too thin.

In fact, Gu Cheng wasn’t exactly light, but together, they certainly didn’t weigh 300 pounds.

“Yaoyao, what about you? Have you lost weight? You must have lost weight from hunger. When you come back, your dad and I will make sure to feed you well, with all the food you love,” Shen Guixiang said, her tone full of concern.

Qin Yao: “…”

So, she could only pretend she didn’t hear her. “Mmm, I’ll probably come back before New Year.”

“Alright,” Shen Guixiang said, smiling. She clapped her hands before suddenly remembering something. “Yaoyao, Zeng Manli has gone.”

At this point, Shen Guixiang’s voice was full of gloating. She didn’t get along well with Zeng Manli and Zhou Fangyu’s families. Qin Yao used to like Zhou Fangyu, and Shen Guixiang didn’t dare to say bad things about the Zhou family in front of Qin Yao. But Zeng Manli’s family was too much, and they would always make sarcastic remarks whenever they met her family.

Now that her daughter had stopped liking the short and unattractive Zhou Fangyu and found a strong, 200-pound son-in-law, Shen Guixiang couldn’t help but feel smug.

“Zeng Manli is here? I see. Zhou Fangyu already has a new partner,” Qin Yao thought to herself, feeling like there was a good show to watch now. The plot had already advanced to the point where Zeng Manli had come to the island.

In the original story, Qin Yao was involved in an ambiguous relationship with Zhou Fangyu, which was publicly exposed and torn apart by Zeng Manli. Zeng Manli even became good friends with the original heroine, Bai Qiuling.

Now, Zhou Fangyu is seriously dating Doctor Xue, and everyone at the hospital knows about it. Who would have known that Zhou Fangyu still has an unmarried fiancée back home?

Of course, their engagement had already ended verbally long ago.

Zeng Manli didn’t care about that and still came to stir things up, pretending to be his fiancée.

*

“Comrade Xiao Qin, you really have great skills.” In the traditional Chinese therapy room, a young female militia captain, Miao Cuiye, kept praising Qin Yao.

The militia has regular rifle training, and Miao Cuiye spoke as quickly as a machine gun.

Rifle practice is a technical job with heavy recoil. For some who don’t know how to handle it, they could end up hurting themselves before even getting close to the enemy.

Many people suffer shoulder injuries after training, especially the new recruits. Minor bruises and blood clots are common, but the more serious cases can even result in fractures.

In the military hospital, there are fewer patients in internal medicine, but plenty of training injuries.

That’s why a Chinese medicine recovery and therapy room like this is essential.

“That mouth of Cuiye’s, she’s not afraid of anyone, always talking non-stop,” joked Doctor Wu Mengxia, who was standing by.

Miao Cuiye replied, “There’s only one person I’m afraid of—Commander Gu. I get nervous just seeing him.”

Doctor Wu laughed mysteriously, “Then you’d better treat Xiao Qin well.”

Qin Yao: “…”

“Why?”

Doctor Wu grinned, “Xiao Qin is dating Commander Gu. They’re getting married soon. You can still have some wedding candy next year.”

Miao Cuiye exclaimed, “What?!”

She looked at Qin Yao with disbelief, as though seeing a ghost, making Qin Yao laugh and shake her head. What had Gu Cheng done to make everyone so scared of him?

“Xiao Qin,” Miao Cuiye said sincerely as she grabbed Qin Yao’s hand. “I need to deliver a document to Commander Gu. Could you accompany me?”

“Alright.” Apart from the time she went to find Gu Cheng for a signature, Qin Yao rarely went to see him during work hours. Usually, they met in the family compound when he was free in the evening.

Though they were supposed to be in a three-month probation period, their work made it difficult to meet often. And now, with less training at the end of the year, there were more personnel adjustments and summary reports. Gu Cheng had plenty of paperwork to handle, so it wasn’t like he had free time.

They were getting married like this? Qin Yao still found it unbelievable. But life in the military was monotonous, and the few chances they had to meet had prevented them from fighting.

Perhaps when they returned to the capital together next year, that would be their real test.

Qin Yao and Miao Cuiye were walking downstairs when they saw a crowd gathering.

Miao Cuiye, who loved to watch the commotion, quickly asked, “What’s going on?”

“An argument! In Doctor Xue’s office!”

“Zhou Fangyu’s fiancée from his hometown came over.”

Miao Cuiye didn’t understand what was happening and muttered, “Tch, a man with a fiancée back home still flirts with female doctors on the island. What a scoundrel, shameless!”

“Exactly, shameless.” Qin Yao added. In her eyes, Zhou Fangyu and Zeng Manli were both unworthy people, clearly made for each other.

A crowd had gathered at the office door, listening to Zhou Fangyu’s agitated voice.

“Manli, our engagement was already broken off, and you were the one who said it. You didn’t want to come to the island with me, so I came, and you said you wanted to break off the engagement.”

“I’ve been here for months now. What engagement is there still?”

Zeng Manli angrily shouted, “I came all the way to this island for you! Aren’t you a man? You broke off our engagement on your own! How could you forget our twenty-plus years of feelings after just six months?”

Zhou Fangyu rushed to explain, “Manli, you have to be reasonable. We have been separated for so long. Isn’t it normal for me to develop feelings with someone else?”

Zeng Manli retorted, “So all our twenty years of love means nothing? Twenty years aren’t enough to hold you? You can really forget me and be with another woman?”

Qin Yao couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

She pulled on Miao Cuiye’s arm, “This is not worth watching. Let’s go.”

Miao Cuiye nodded, “An old story, it’s just disgusting.”

Miao Cuiye guessed what had happened. It was likely that the couple had gotten engaged, but the man was assigned to work on the island, and the woman didn’t want to come. They broke up, and now, after more than half a year, the man had found another woman. The ex-fiancée came over and was angrily accusing him of changing his mind.

It was a mess. Both sides had their reasons, but neither were good people.

Qin Yao and Miao Cuiye left and went to find Gu Cheng. Unfortunately, they arrived just as Gu Cheng was giving a lecture downstairs, with a row of people standing in front of him.

When Miao Cuiye saw this, she immediately felt dizzy, as if she was going to faint from the heat.

But Gu Cheng’s voice, much like herbal medicine on a hot summer day, made everyone feel instantly awake. It was sharp, fiery, and invigorating.

It was the first time Qin Yao had seen Gu Cheng so angry, and she felt a little nervous. She exchanged glances with Miao Cuiye, silently regretting not staying at the hospital to watch the drama.

After Gu Cheng finished scolding the people, he turned to Qin Yao, his expression softening a bit. He walked up to her.

Qin Yao looked at him, and for a moment, she couldn’t help but recall what Shen Guixiang had said on the phone about her future husband being a two-hundred-pound strongman… well, aside from the weight, Gu Cheng’s presence was definitely that of a strongman. How could she describe his presence? Like a bottle Huoxiang Zhengqi Water walking toward her.

“Commander Huo, Comrade Miao is here to deliver this document to you.”

Miao Cuiye: “?!”

Gu Cheng: “What?”