Chapter 19: Ticket Grabbing

“C-certainly.”
At Liu Tao’s flattered response, Gu Zhiye sat down a couple of seats away from them. Anyone with eyes could see he was putting distance between him and Jiang Xiaofei, but his unintended move directly turned their table into the center of everyone’s attention.
Many glances fell upon Su Niannian.
Before the new members arrived, Jiang Xiaofei was the troupe’s flower, but with Su Niannian’s appearance, the title had quietly been passed to her. From the very first day she arrived, many people had been inquiring quietly to Deputy Head Zhang about her — even from the neighboring military base.
Marriage was a major concern for the organization, and Deputy Head Zhang even considered organizing a social event at the end of the month. But soon, the news that Su Niannian had a fiancé circulated… and many fell silent.
At that moment, sitting in a corner, Deputy Head Zhang kept a nervous eye on Gu Zhiye, afraid he, too, might become fascinated by Su Niannian. Fortunately, the man hadn’t made a move — he hadn’t even glanced at her directly.
Not far away, Liu Tao quietly held back from gobbling down her food, not even making a sound while eating. In contrast, Su Niannian remained at ease, even choosing to pick out the green onions, ginger, and garlic from her meal.
Just then, Gu Zhiye unexpectedly turned his gaze toward them.
Before entering the troupe, Liu Tao had repeatedly reminded Su Niannian not to bring in those delicate airs; otherwise, it would surely offend some hardline members. That single glance from Gu Zhiye felt as sharp as a knife to Liu Tao, causing her to frantically use her plate to cover the traces of discarded ginger. She whispered quietly, “Don’t be a picky eater.”
“…”
Su Niannian was briefly confused.
While Gu Zhiye ate, he kept an eye on his little wife.
After a moment, he suddenly said, “Training with the troupe is tough, isn’t it?”
“It’s… fine.”
Liu Tao paused for a moment and then reluctantly answered.
To her surprise, Gu Zhiye finished his meal, cleaned up his plate, and even filled two cups of their limited green bean soup. Liu Tao’s hands trembled with nervousness. Grinning broadly, she said, “My goodness! I take back everything I said — Captain Gu is a living buddha. Did you see? He even cared whether our training was tiring. Do you think… he might like me?”
Su Niannian directly sprayed out a mouthful of green bean soup.
“He’s married — you shouldn’t daydream.”
“Hehe… just a joke.”
With training on her mind, Su Niannian finished her meal faster and went to wash her plate. All of a sudden, something was slipped into her pocket. She turned her head and met Gu Zhiye’s gaze. He was casually washing his plate against the corner wall, avoiding all direct interaction — yet his words were filled with concern.
“Did you not get a chicken leg? Did you run out of meal stamps?”
“The paycheck and allowances for this month have come in. Take them.”
“I have no thoughts toward Captain Jiang. I’ll talk to her father and make sure she finds her way back. Su Niannian, I’m married — and you are, too.”
Su Niannian unhappily shook the drops of water from her hand directly into Gu Zhiye’s face. She raised her eyebrows. “Why are you giving me your paycheck?”
“To support my wife — to care for her.”
Soldiers began filing out from the mess hall. Gu Zhiye lowered his gaze and turned away after dropping that sentence, not even giving Su Niannian a chance to return the money. Her face grew warm. This man was honestly impossible!
…the new soldiers had a chance to perform at their first event — a show put on at the troupe’s stage. The veteran members would team up with the new ones. Tickets were distributed to nearby garrisons and factory officials. The number of seats was limited, which meant not much opportunity for the new soldiers.
The team that Su Niannian belonged to — Second Squad — consisted of thirteen members, of whom only five were veteran soldiers. They were managed by Liao Yu, a team leader who had been injured two years previously and was forced to transfer to a non-active role due to a leg injury. Because the genius fell from the pedestal, her expression was frequently cold, and her face was not welcoming toward these giggling young women.
Spoiled Su Niannian and mischievous Liu Tao were placed at the side of their group.
Su Niannian made no complaints. She kept tugging Liu Tao forward to practice repeatedly, determined to show their best for the audience.
Liu Tao was perplexed. “We’re placed on the side — the view might be poor anyway — why try so hard?”
Su Niannian kicked up her leg; it rose above 180 degrees. She held it gracefully, slowly bending backwards while biting her lip. “This is my first performance after joining the troupe. I heard that Deputy Head Zhang even handed out many tickets — even corner seats shouldn’t bring shame upon us.”
The drops of sweat fell down her porcelain-like face, making her look even more pure and charming.
Liu Tao fell to the floor with a plop, tilting her head to look up at her. “You’re right! Actually, with your looks, you belong in the center — you’d score points for our Second Squad. But the team leader arranges positions by seniority… honestly… I think you’re just as good a dancer as Jiang Xiaofei.”
She lowered her voice and whispered, “I heard their First Squad is really well-equipped. They even added two additional programs — one of them is a solo by Captain Jiang. Amazing. She’s practically the darling of Deputy Head Zhang…”

“Dazzling people shine wherever they go — that’s not strange.”

Su Niannian had no interaction with Jiang Xiaofei. When it came to Jiang Xiaofei’s confession to Gu Zhiye, she didn’t even feel a ripple in her heart; instead, she only admired the woman’s courage. To openly confess in front of everyone — that was something she herself didn’t even dare to do. She didn’t even have the courage to admit their relationship, choosing instead to delay things as much as possible.

Hearing this, a small smile appeared on her lips, and amid Liu Tao’s chatter, she even began looking forward to Jiang Xiaofei’s performance. She hoped to meet a worthy opponent.

…
Tickets for the troupe’s performance were delivered to the military base once again. At that moment, Gu Zhiye was meeting with Commissar Jiang to explain Su Niannian’s situation. The marriage report for the two had already been processed. Anyone who accessed the files would discover the fact that Su Niannian was married — something that couldn’t be kept a secret. But Gu Zhiye didn’t want to undermine his wife’s hard work; for the first time, he used a pleading tone, asking several base leaders to “look the other way” and let the troupe handle Su Niannian normally.

As the most outstanding battalion commander, Gu Zhiye’s future was bound to be promising — his marriage was a matter of concern for everyone. Hearing his request, the base leaders nodded in understanding. Subsequently, they divided up the stack of tickets in a rush.

Commissar Jiang directly chuckled, “Interesting! This is a fine woman. Let’s go watch her perform.”

Captain Yan was quick to snag a ticket for Gu Zhiye. “Here — for you. Go watch your wife perform tomorrow night.”

Gu Zhiye normally had no interest in these events; he would much rather be on guard duty. Everyone thought he would decline — but instead, he accepted the ticket, his voice barely perceptible but distinctly pleased.
“All right.”