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Lin Jinghe’s expression grew even more peculiar, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Li Xia said gently, “Go ahead, it’s okay.”
“Well… about six or seven years ago, Political Commissar Shen’s wife introduced me to Commander Gu for a blind date. But I was a little late that day, and when I arrived, he looked furious. His face was so dark and menacing that he just stormed off. I was so scared I didn’t even dare to speak. Honestly, at that moment, I felt like if I had said anything, he might have hit me.”
Even now, recalling that day made Lin Jinghe shudder.
“That’s why I was really worried that Commander Gu might not treat you well,” she added.
This account didn’t quite match Li Xia’s impression of Gu Weicheng. He always seemed serious, but he had never come across as someone who would lash out in anger, let alone resort to violence.
Being late was indeed impolite, but would he really have reacted that severely?
Even though she hadn’t known Gu Weicheng back then, Li Xia had confidence in his character—he was not the type of man who would ever raise a hand against someone.
His fists were meant for enemies and wrongdoers, not for the people around him.
Li Xia said, “Weicheng treats me very well, but I still appreciate your concern.”
Lin Jinghe grew a little embarrassed. “Actually… actually, I wasn’t always this kind. When I first heard that Commander Gu had married a wife from the countryside, I was gloating a little.
I thought, serves him right for being so cold—he could only end up with a country wife. But after meeting you, I realized there’s really no big difference between people from the city and the countryside. Who says country girls can’t be beautiful? If anyone ever says that again, I’ll be the first to disagree!
And you’re so kind-hearted, too. I really, really like you. The more I like you, the more I can’t help but worry about you.”
She meant every word from the bottom of her heart.
The thought of Gu Weicheng possibly abusing Li Xia had kept Lin Jinghe up at night.
Even though her husband, Yan Ziming, had reassured her that Gu Weicheng wasn’t the type to hit his wife, Lin Jinghe still refused to believe it.
How could that be possible? He looked so fierce, always wearing a stern expression, like a towering block of ice. And yet, a man like that had somehow managed to marry someone as exceptional as Li Xia!
Li Xia smiled. “Actually, you’re quite lovable too. Even if you did gloat a little, you’re honest about your feelings, which shows you have a genuine personality. I like that about you.”
“As for what happened back then, maybe there was some misunderstanding. I’ll ask Weicheng about it when I get back.”
Hearing that Li Xia liked her as well, Lin Jinghe was visibly pleased. But as for that last part, she remained skeptical.
Just then, an orderly from Political Commissar Shen’s office arrived, calling out to Li Xia.
“Sister-in-law, the commissar would like to see you in his office.”
Li Xia nodded. “Alright, I’ll head over first. Let’s talk again next time.”
Lin Jinghe nodded. “Okay, go ahead.”
Li Xia followed the orderly toward Political Commissar Shen’s office.
Political Commissar Shen had a kind and approachable demeanor. When he saw Li Xia, he invited her to sit down and even personally poured her a cup of tea.
Li Xia felt a bit nervous. After all, Political Commissar Shen was Gu Weicheng’s superior. Normally, Gu Weicheng had to stand at attention and salute when he saw him, and even in his office, he had to stand while answering questions.
But now, the political commissar was personally pouring her tea.
“Thank you, Commissar,” Li Xia said.
Political Commissar Shen smiled. “So you’re Xiao Gu’s wife. I’ve heard a lot about you, but seeing you in person is even better. You and Xiao Gu truly make a good match. You did an excellent job with today’s lesson. This is a small reward from the organization—please accept it.”
He handed her an envelope, and inside was money.
Li Xia quickly responded, “Commissar, this is something I should be doing. I can’t accept this money.”
“This is a personal commendation from the organization—you should take it,” Political Commissar Shen said, his expression turning slightly more serious.
Seeing that she couldn’t refuse, Li Xia finally accepted it. “Alright then, thank you to the organization, and thank you, Commissar.”
“Before you came to the army base, there were some discussions about you within the unit. I also had several conversations with Xiao Gu, as I believe that a husband and wife living apart long-term is not a sustainable plan. But now that I’ve met you, I can see that Xiao Gu has good judgment—he married the right person.” Political Commissar Shen smiled as he spoke.
The fact that he was being so direct about past discussions within the unit was because he could tell Li Xia was a reasonable person.
If it had been a different military wife, she might have caused a big scene upon hearing such remarks.
Li Xia only smiled in response and said, “I understand what you’re saying, Commissar. But the reason I didn’t come to the army base earlier was due to other circumstances.”
She then explained her previous situation to Political Commissar Shen. She was well aware that a soldier’s promotion was influenced by their family situation. If a soldier couldn’t even resolve issues within their own household, the organization would have to consider their overall capability.
Li Xia didn’t want to hold Gu Weicheng back, so giving a proper explanation was necessary.
After leaving the political commissar’s office, she opened the envelope on her way home and found that it contained a total of eighteen yuan.
It might not sound like much, but at the time, that was nearly half a month’s salary for an average worker!
When she arrived home, An An heard the door open and immediately ran to greet her. “Mommy, you’re back!”
“Mhm. An An, what were you doing?” Li Xia reached out to ruffle his hair, once again marveling at how soft it felt—such a delight to touch!
An An pointed to the book on the rattan table. “I was reading, but there are some words I don’t recognize. I was waiting for you to come home and teach me how to read them.”
Sister-in-law Tao was drying string beans in the courtyard next door. Seeing Li Xia return, she leaned over and said,
“Xiao Li, you’re back. I asked An An to come play at our house, but he wouldn’t come. He just sat there reading by himself. I just can’t understand it—how can a child be this well-behaved! My Aimin is still too young to say anything about, but Aiguo and Aidang are already in elementary school, and they never open a book after class. If only they could be more like An An.”
Li Xia smiled. “Every child has a different personality. Aiguo and Aidang are lively and energetic, which is also a good thing.”
She took An An’s hand and walked over, guiding him on how to read the characters he didn’t recognize and explaining their meanings.
After finishing, Li Xia said, “An An, how about Mommy buys you a Xinhua Dictionary? Once we get it, I’ll teach you how to look up words in it. That way, whenever you come across a character you don’t know, you can check the dictionary. It even has explanations for words and phrases.”
An An’s eyes lit up. “Okay!”
“But before that, you need to learn pinyin first,” Li Xia added, realizing an important issue. Without knowing pinyin, even with a dictionary, An An wouldn’t be able to recognize the characters because he wouldn’t know how to sound them out.
An An didn’t know what pinyin was, but he was eager to learn.
“These eighteen yuan were a reward from the organization. Let’s use this money to buy An An a dictionary,” Li Xia said.
In a small voice, An An said, “Mommy, next time I want to save someone too, and then I’ll use the money I get from saving them to buy something for you.”
Hearing this, Li Xia smiled at An An, squatted down, and patiently explained,
“An An, the purpose of saving someone should always be to help them, not to receive a reward. When Mommy saved that little boy this time, I never thought about getting a reward, right?
Would you choose not to save someone just because there’s no reward? Mommy doesn’t encourage rescuing others when you can’t protect yourself, but if it’s within your ability, we should act with a clear conscience. However, if you ever come across a situation where a child can’t provide help, you should seek an adult’s assistance instead.”
An An listened to his mother’s words and nodded firmly. “Mommy, I understand.”
“Good boy.” Li Xia gently ruffled An An’s hair.
His hair had grown a bit long—she would have to take him for a haircut soon.
That evening, when Gu Weicheng returned home, Li Xia had already prepared dinner.
As the family sat together to eat, Gu Weicheng said, “Yesterday’s lesson was well taught, Teacher Li.”
Li Xia had been called “Teacher Li” all day yesterday. She hadn’t expected Gu Weicheng to call her that as well when he got home.
Seeing that he was teasing her, she pouted and huffed, “You didn’t even attend the lesson, so how would you know?”
Gu Weicheng chuckled. “I heard from others. Even the Political Commissar praised you in front of me, saying I married a wonderful wife.”
At the mention of Political Commissar Shen, Li Xia smiled and said, “Earlier, when I went to his office, he even poured me tea.”
“This kind of special treatment? Even I never got that,” Gu Weicheng sighed. Every time he went to the Political Commissar’s office, it was just to receive policy briefings.
Before Li Xia had come to live with him at the base, the Political Commissar’s most frequent words to him were: ‘Xiao Gu, you can’t just focus on work. You need to take care of your family life too.’
Now that Li Xia had joined him, at least his ears were spared from those lectures.
Li Xia lifted her chin. “Well? Impressive, right?”
Gu Weicheng looked at her slightly pouting red lips and found her absolutely adorable. He had the sudden urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
“By the way, I have a question for you. Do you remember Deputy Commander Yan’s wife?” Li Xia recalled what Lin Jinghe had mentioned and decided to ask Gu Weicheng for the full story.
“Yes, I do. Why?” Gu Weicheng replied.
“Did the two of you have a matchmaking meeting before? Tell me what happened.”
Gu Weicheng looked utterly baffled. “Me? A matchmaking meeting with Old Yan’s wife? Wife, where did you hear that from?”
—
Commander Gu: ‘The sky is falling. After a long day at work, I come home and suddenly find myself caught in a scandal with my comrade’s wife.’