Chapter 28

Ji Pingshan glared and blew his beard in anger, “You little brat! So what if my nephew stole your wife? You’re not even ashamed at your age! I haven’t even brought up all the other crap you’ve done!

What’s the deal with that Tian Li?

His father was the former commune director, and no matter what, he made significant contributions. And you sent his son to the farm just like that?

And what about his uncle? Didn’t we agree to stay neutral and not get involved in their mess?

Now you’ve helped Xin Qingbai — what if he comes to you again next time? The Revolutionary Committee is already in a precarious situation, and you still jump right in? Did all your brains get eaten by a dog?!”

Fu Tingchuan glanced at Su Nian in shame and then whispered something into Ji Pingshan’s ear.

Whatever he said made Ji Pingshan burst into hearty laughter.

“You brat… Fine, what’s done is done, we’ll go with the flow now. But you’d better be more careful from now on, don’t give anyone the chance to grab your handle.

I heard Han Zheng came from the same unit as you, and now he’s representing the Beijing division. Go keep him company.”

The name “Han Zheng” was like a switch flipping in Su Nian’s chest, stirring unease.

Her eyes subconsciously scanned the crowd for the two younger officers — likely one of them was Han Zheng. No wonder he was the male lead in the original book. Either one of them looked like they could be a protagonist.

“Fu Tingchuan! Long time no see!”

Han Zheng waited until Fu Tingchuan finished his work and came over to greet him, “You looked so busy earlier I didn’t want to interrupt. You’re a regiment commander now?”

Fu Tingchuan threw his arm around Han Zheng’s shoulder and laughed heartily.

“Just a regiment commander in a remote corner. How could I compare to you, a battalion commander in the Beijing division? You’ve got the real future.”

Han Zheng’s lips curled slightly. He’d felt a little resentful when he heard how fast Fu Tingchuan had been promoted lately, but now that he saw the backward conditions in the northeast, the gloom in his heart lifted a great deal.

“Yeah, this kind of backwater is definitely no match for the capital’s development. Why don’t you apply for a transfer? Come to the city?”

His tone was laced with arrogance.

Fu Tingchuan’s thoughts turned, and he quietly lowered his hand from Han Zheng’s shoulder. “I’ll pass. My wife’s from Hangzhou, so if I apply for a transfer, it’ll be back to Hangzhou.

That girl is the apple of my eye. Nothing’s more important than her.”

Su Nian was still in shock.

She hadn’t expected to meet the male lead Han Zheng so soon. And yet, over in the book, Su Yue and him were still all lovey-dovey. Judging by what she just saw, it was likely Han Zheng had something to do with Fu Tingchuan’s inexplicable death in the original plot.

How could someone so petty and jealous become the male lead?

Truthfully, Su Nian was already biased. She had made up her mind that Fu Tingchuan was the good one, so any rival of his — like Han Zheng — naturally rubbed her the wrong way.

But Han Zheng was small-minded.

He had fought hard to reach his current position, and his family had high expectations for him. In the past, when he was more outstanding, it was easy to treat Fu Tingchuan like a buddy. But now, with Fu Tingchuan stealing the spotlight in recent years, even his family was starting to complain.

How could Han Zheng still treat him as a true friend?

On the contrary, he preferred Lu Ping — the officer by his side — who had no background, average skills, but was obedient.

“Fu Tingchuan, I’m pretty much done here. You tell me where we’re going next. If it’s inconvenient for me to tag along, I can stay back.”

Su Nian interrupted the tension between the two men.

Han Zheng turned his eyes toward her. He had already been watching this woman — how she conversed confidently with the foreign surveyors, and her striking appearance.

“And this is?”

Just as Fu Tingchuan was about to speak, Su Nian extended her hand with a smile. “Hello, I’m Fu Tingchuan’s wife, Su Nian.”

Han Zheng lightly clasped her fingertips in a polite, gentlemanly handshake. “So you’re Fu Tingchuan’s wife. No wonder you’re so remarkable.

Tingchuan, you lucky dog. You’ve got such an amazing wife, and you didn’t even mention it before. When Qingqing asked me about you, I was thinking of playing matchmaker…

Ah — look at me, running my mouth!”

Su Nian withdrew her hand with a gracious smile.

“I understand. After all, my husband is quite exceptional. Otherwise, you two wouldn’t be such close brothers, right? It’s perfectly normal for people to be drawn to excellence.”

Fu Tingchuan breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

His wife wasn’t mad. Han Zheng really was being shady, trying to sow discord in front of her. He’d better keep his distance in the future.

Su Nian herself hadn’t expected her presence to be useful like this.

Han Zheng, ever calculating, was pleased by her words. He took them as praise, thinking she was elevating him by proxy — his mood improved.

“We still need to head up to the mining office and then the mountain. Sorry to trouble you, Miss Su.”

The mountain?

Su Nian recalled that Su Yue’s work site was somewhere around the halfway point up the mountain. She couldn’t help but wonder — what kind of sparks would fly when the original male and female leads met for the first time?

She was… actually kind of looking forward to it.

“No trouble at all. It’s my job.”

Fu Tingchuan noticed Su Nian’s bright, cheerful smile and found it somehow irritating. Why did she have to look so happy? Could it be she really found Han Zheng appealing?

But everything Han Zheng had, he had too!

“Let’s get moving. It’ll be dark soon, aren’t you hungry? We’ve got to eat, and you all have to get back afterward. Don’t you need to go to another commune tomorrow?”

Ji Pingshan couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

Where had his fearless, unshakable regiment commander gone?

“Let’s go. Tingchuan’s right. The schedule these next two weeks is packed. Everyone’s worked hard — let’s head back to the guesthouse and rest.”

The mining office was quite simple, so they finished quickly.

The mountain path was rough, and it was Su Nian’s first time climbing it. She nearly tripped twice, but thanks to Fu Tingchuan keeping a close eye on her, she didn’t embarrass herself.

When they finally reached the halfway-point construction team, they were immediately met with a crisis.

“Uncle! Please save Yueyue, she’s badly hurt!” Fu Mingjun’s face was pale, and he was crying like Su Yue had died instead of being injured.

Fu Tingchuan called over the squad leader. “What happened? Don’t we always ensure safety regulations are followed?”

The squad leader scowled. “Don’t blame our safety procedures, Commander. That female volunteer was completely uncooperative — always complaining about this and that.

I checked every person before work. Everyone had their protective gear on properly.

But she took hers off behind my back because she thought it looked ugly. I’m responsible for the entire team, I can’t babysit just her all day!

Now she’s hurt and just sits there crying — what was she thinking before?!”

Fu Mingjun hadn’t expected the squad leader to throw all the blame on Su Yue. Displeased, he stepped forward.

“How can you talk like that? You’re the leader — if Yueyue’s hurt, it’s your failure. Instead of taking responsibility, you’re just shifting the blame. I think you’re unfit to lead. If you can’t handle it, step down!”

Su Nian was stunned. Then silent. Then she quietly raised her camera to take pictures.

Han Zheng’s eyes landed on the injured Su Yue lying on the ground. His eyes widened — that face looked oddly familiar… Had he seen her somewhere before?