Chapter 11 The gentle sound of the clip that Huo Changzheng himself didn’t even notice

Although Gu Cheng had always known of Lin Suisui, he had never actually seen her before. But now, looking at the miniature version of Huo Changzheng standing beside her, he could immediately deduce that this woman was indeed Lin Suisui.

After staying in the compound for a few days, Lin Suisui had seen many soldiers. Most of them were quite serious, and their strong presence often made her feel a bit intimidated. But she could distinguish between seriousness and dislike—like the man in front of her now, who clearly disliked her, even though she didn’t know him.

Gu Cheng walked up to them and swept a sharp glance over Lin Suisui, but as he bent down to look at Doubao, his demeanor instantly softened.

“You must be Doubao, right?” Gu Cheng said, reaching out to pat the top of Doubao’s head—but the boy easily dodged him.

His hand froze mid-air, and then he chuckled. “Doubao, I’m your dad’s best friend. You don’t have to be scared.”

Doubao looked up at him and replied in a fierce baby voice, “I don’t know you. Please go away.”

Even though Doubao was just a four-year-old little rascal, his steady gaze as he looked at Gu Cheng didn’t waver in the slightest. In fact, he looked a bit like a miniature version of Huo Changzheng.

“You little brat, next time I’ll have your dad give you a lesson,” Gu Cheng said, half amused and half annoyed.

Just then, a deep voice sounded from behind him: “What lesson are you talking about?”

Lin Suisui looked up and saw Huo Changzheng striding toward them with his long legs. Before she could react, he was already standing next to her and lowered his voice to ask, “Are you alright?”

She was stunned for a moment and asked, confused, “I… I’m fine. What could be wrong with me?”

“Good, as long as you’re okay.”

Gu Cheng looked at the two of them standing so close together, and when he heard the rare softness in Huo Changzheng’s voice—something even Huo himself didn’t seem to realize—he immediately threw his hands on his hips, fuming.

“Huo Changzheng, are you serious right now? I didn’t even do anything to her!”

Huo Changzheng raised his eyes and fixed Gu Cheng with a meaningful stare, coldly saying, “You’d better not have.”

“Hey… What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t trust me?”

Just as Gu Cheng, now thoroughly agitated, was about to argue, a soft baby voice chimed in like a little tattletale:
“Daddy, is this uncle really your friend? He was being very mean to Mommy.”

“Hey… kid, you just stabbed me in the back!”

Gu Cheng gave Doubao an exasperated look, then turned to Huo Changzheng with a face full of grievance—only to hear Huo coldly declare, “He’s not my friend.”

In that moment, Gu Cheng felt like the sky was falling.

So many years of life-and-death brotherhood on the battlefield, yet in front of a woman, it all meant nothing.

“Huo Changzheng, you—” Gu Cheng wanted to say more, but Huo Changzheng didn’t even bother replying. He turned and asked Lin Suisui, “You two were heading to eat?”

“Yes, we’re going to grab lunch and head home. You can go on with your business.”

“Mm. Get some extra meat.”

Huo Changzheng did have things to attend to. He gave that quick instruction and left, and Gu Cheng hurriedly followed behind. As he passed Lin Suisui, he shot her a fierce glare.

Lin Suisui was completely baffled by the look. If he weren’t a man, she would’ve suspected he was one of Huo Changzheng’s outside lovers or something.

After getting lunch with Doubao, Lin Suisui headed straight back to the dormitory. Just as they reached the building, they ran into Fang Weiguo.

She remembered how he had been punished to run ten kilometers the day before by Huo Changzheng. She originally wanted to say something comforting but was afraid it might hurt his pride, so in the end she said nothing.

But she did have something to ask of him.

“Comrade Fang, do you know where I could buy things like iron and wires?”

“What do you need those for?”

“I want to make an oven.” Lin Suisui briefly described the oven she saw at Fang Qianqian’s place and asked, “Can you help me get the materials?”

“Those things aren’t so easy to find.” Fang Weiguo looked a bit troubled, but since it was a request from the ‘sister-in-law,’ it was basically the same as an order from the commander. So he replied enthusiastically, “I’ll try to find them. Once I do, I’ll deliver them to you.”

“Thank you so much.” Lin Suisui knew that if Fang Weiguo said he’d try, that basically meant it was a sure thing. “Let me know how much it costs later—I’ll pay you back.”

“Sure, sister-in-law. I’ll head off now.” Fang Weiguo waved at her and jogged away—he was about to escort Huo Changzheng to a meeting in the county.

Ever since he’d been punished to run ten kilometers the day before, Fang Weiguo felt a bit nervous around Huo Changzheng. He wasn’t sure if the commander now thought poorly of him. Honestly, he felt a little wronged. It was Huo Changzheng himself who said the household matters were up to his wife, so when Lin Suisui asked him to find a room, he immediately did it.

He’d thought he’d earn some praise for his efficiency, but instead he got in trouble for making unauthorized decisions. Now, when it came to doing things for Lin Suisui, he wasn’t sure what the boundaries were.

“Commander, there’s something I need to report,” he said cautiously once the car had left the compound.

Huo Changzheng didn’t even look up. “Speak.”

“It’s about sister-in-law,” Fang Weiguo said, and immediately noticed in the rearview mirror that Huo Changzheng looked up.

Sure enough, the commander was most concerned when it came to his wife. Fang Weiguo quickly explained, “She asked me to help find some materials. Said she wants to make her own oven.”

He relayed everything Lin Suisui had said, word for word.

Huo Changzheng was silent for a few seconds, then replied, “Get the materials and deliver them to my office.”

“Got it! I’ll make sure it gets done.”

After lunch, Lin Suisui napped with Doubao. Half-asleep, she suddenly felt a little furnace next to her. A thought struck her, and she opened her eyes and reached out to touch Doubao’s forehead.

Sure enough—he had a fever.

“Doubao, are you okay?” Lin Suisui quickly got up, touching his forehead while gently shaking him awake.

Doubao opened his eyes weakly and replied in a faint voice, “Mom, I feel dizzy… it’s so hard.”

As he spoke, he snuggled closer into her arms.

Seeing how pitiful he looked, Lin Suisui felt a wave of heartache and fear rush through her. She couldn’t help but think of how much he had suffered last month when he had pneumonia.

“Don’t be afraid, Doubao. Mommy will take you to see a doctor now.”

Lin Suisui grabbed a jacket and put it on Doubao, then carried him on her back. They weren’t familiar with the area, and she didn’t even know where the hospital was. With no other choice, she carried Doubao to find Fang Qianqian.

When Fang Qianqian saw Doubao’s face flushed with fever, she immediately said, “There’s a clinic in the compound—I’ll take you there.”

The clinic wasn’t far, and they arrived after walking for about ten minutes.

The attending doctor was an elderly man around fifty years old, said to be well-versed in both Chinese and Western medicine. After examining Doubao and taking his pulse, he said, “The child just got here and probably isn’t used to the new environment. This looks like a typical cold and fever. I’ll prescribe two doses of herbal medicine. Boil it and have him drink it. Once he sweats, the fever should go down.”

But Lin Suisui still couldn’t relax. “He had pneumonia just last month. Could it be coming back?”

“I see,” the doctor responded. “Since the child is still young, his immune system is relatively weak, so there’s indeed a risk of recurrence. But right now, from what I can hear, his breathing sounds okay. No need to worry too much. Just go home, give him the medicine, and let him rest. If anything changes, bring him back to me right away.”

“Okay, thank you, doctor.”

After the medicine was prepared, Lin Suisui took it and headed home with Doubao.