Chapter 83: A Good Match

“After being gone for over three years without a single letter, he returned, and I kicked him out immediately.”

Lin Qiao found out about this that evening when Guo Yan called her.

At that moment, she had just washed her hair and was drying it when the phone rang. Ji Duo answered it first, saw it was Guo Yan, and handed it to her, taking the towel to help dry her hair. Whenever Lin Qiao turned her head, she could see his serious expression, as if he were in a meeting.

She smiled and said to Guo Yan, “That’s right. If it were me, I’d kick him out too.”

This made the large hand on her head pause for a moment, but it quickly resumed drying her hair as usual.

Guo Yan, feeling validated, started talking more, “Exactly. He left without telling me, and now he thinks he can just come back? Just because he sent some money occasionally? Do I need that little bit of money, or do I need someone who hasn’t shown his face in three years?”

“Exactly,” Lin Qiao continued to agree, “If you had found someone and gotten married right away, you could have had two kids by now.”

This time, Guo Yan didn’t follow up, “Dealing with one like him is enough trouble. Why find another? I’d rather spend my time making more money.”

Lin Qiao laughed, “Right, right. Men only slow down your money-making speed. Don’t bother with him. It’s not like no one wants us.”

After hanging up, Ji Duo had almost finished drying her hair, “Check if it’s dry enough.”

“It’s fine. We have a hairdryer at home.” Lin Qiao felt her hair and went to the cabinet to get the hairdryer.

It was an old-fashioned one, very loud, but at least it worked. If Lin Qiao had traveled back a few more years, she would have had to let her hair air dry.

Ji Duo watched the news nearby. When she finished drying her hair, he looked at her, “Aren’t you going to persuade your cousin?”

He was referring to the phone call.

In those days, people were encouraged to reconcile rather than separate, especially since Lin Qiao’s cousin was trying to win someone back.

Lin Qiao was winding the hairdryer cord and suddenly remembered his earlier pause, raising an eyebrow, “Are you empathizing?”

“I discussed it with you before I left,” Ji Duo said, “and I wrote you a letter.”

That was true, but Lin Qiao looked at him with a half-smile, “You discussed it, but you were still gone for more than two years?”

Ji Duo had no response and simply got up to put the hairdryer back in the cabinet.

Lin Qiao picked up a comb and brushed her long hair. “Leaving without a word for three years is my cousin’s fault. Should I side with him and make Yan Zi angry? She needs to vent her anger first. Besides, if she’s still angry, there’s still hope.”

Still hope if she’s angry?

Ji Duo raised his eyebrows, showing interest.

Clearly, he didn’t understand women’s hearts. Lin Qiao shot him a look. “Why be angry if there’s no hope? She’d be polite or act like she didn’t know him.”

Being angry means she still cares. If she didn’t care, who would she be angry at?

Ji Duo pondered this for a moment, then looked up. “So you were angry back then?”

If she didn’t care, why would it matter if the childhood betrothal was changed or kept secret? She could have just nodded and distanced herself from him.

Military marriages are hard to dissolve, but being in sync and harmonious is one way to be a couple. Bickering and arguing is another, and living separate lives while still married is yet another. She lived so confidently and brilliantly that having or not having a husband who was like a decoration didn’t seem to matter.

Though he phrased it as a question, his tone was certain. His gaze fell on Lin Qiao’s face, perhaps waiting for her answer. He might not understand women’s hearts well, but he was incredibly perceptive and good at drawing inferences.

Lin Qiao smiled and lifted her eyes. “Next time, I won’t be angry.”

That statement was a bit dangerous. It was not clear whether the emphasis was on not being angry or on next time.

Perhaps sensing the trap or genuinely meaning it, Ji Duo said, “There won’t be a next time.”

His tone was serious, his gaze firm. Lin Qiao said nothing more, touching his abs through his shirt. “Still working out?”

It turned out he was not only working out but also still in great shape after two years apart.

In the morning, Lin Qiao looked in the mirror and saw her rosy, radiant complexion, a sign of a particularly harmonious life.

As she was about to leave, she turned back and playfully lifted his determined chin. “Good performance. I’m leaving. Be ready in bed tonight.”

Before she finished, he grabbed her wrist. “If you don’t want to go to school, just say so.”

“I dare not go to school. How’s your waist, Commander Ji?” Lin Qiao teased, rubbing his most sensitive spot before running off with a laugh.

“Troublesome girl,” Ji Duo muttered, touching the spot she had rubbed.

Rolling up his sleeves, he was about to replace the broken roof tiles when the phone rang.

Ji Duo answered and found it was Lin Wei.

“Qiao Qiao already left?” Lin Wei sounded disappointed.

Ji Duo replied, “Yes,” and was about to say, “I’ll tell her when she gets back,” but paused. “Are you looking for Qiao Qiao because of Guo Yan?”

“How did you know?” Lin Wei was surprised.

Ji Duo didn’t answer. “Do you want to give up or try harder?”

“If I wanted to give up, why would I go back to find her?”

Lin Wei clearly didn’t want to give up. “But she won’t talk to me and even threw water at me. I had no choice but to ask Qiao Qiao.”

“Did you ever think that her being angry means she still cares?” Ji Duo applied his newfound wisdom.

If it weren’t for his brother-in-law, he might not have known many things.

Lin Wei indeed hadn’t thought about it that way, “It’s because she still cares… Is that so?”

Ji Duo firmly replied, “Yes. Otherwise, why would she throw water at you? She could have been polite or acted like she didn’t know you.”

Don’t doubt it; he learned this from Lin Qiao last night.

Lin Wei suddenly understood, “You really get it, brother-in-law. These years haven’t been wasted.”

Ji Duo: “…”

If it weren’t for the fact that the other person called him brother-in-law, he would have wanted to hang up the phone. But since he had already brought it up, he decided to be helpful to the end, “There’s one more issue you must handle well, or you two still won’t have a chance.”

“What issue?”

“Your family.”

After taking twenty days of annual leave, Ji Duo bought groceries, cooked meals, and drove Lin Qiao to and from school every day, living like a “good wife and loving mother.”

By the time he returned to the army, the warmth of domestic life had already overshadowed the cold and stern aura he brought back from the battlefield. So, while achieving great things is important for a man, having a family gives him true attachment in this world.

Commander Ding looked at his once most capable subordinate, “Your transfer order has come through. You’re now the commander of the Third Armored Brigade. Congratulations, Commander Ji.”

A few days after the four stars were pinned on Ji Duo’s shoulders, Lin Qiao, dressed in formal attire with her hair up, followed her mentor into the conference hall. She would serve as Zhang Changning’s assistant, participating in and assisting with the presentation of the research results.

Compared to standing on the podium, there were undoubtedly fewer people in the conference hall, but each one was more significant. There were leaders from Qing University, experts and representatives from other schools and research institutes in chemistry, and representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, and even the Ministry of National Defense.

The young woman stood half a step behind her mentor, in her early twenties, yet poised and composed. Her demonstrations were orderly, and her answers were clear and logical. No matter how tricky the questions were, her expression didn’t change, and she always managed to resolve them skillfully and insightfully, making her the perfect spokesperson for Zhang Changning.

When Zhang Changning didn’t need her, she stood quietly and patiently on the side, never showing off.

When the presentation ended, the applause was thunderous.

“This is undoubtedly one of the past decade’s most important chemical research achievements.” Someone commented.

The ability to significantly improve the accuracy of missiles is undoubtedly of great importance for enhancing national defense capabilities.

Everyone stood up to shake hands with Zhang Changning, and some noticed Lin Qiao behind him, “You chose a good student.”

The person from the Ministry of Education was even somewhat familiar with Lin Qiao, “Last time it was the podium. This time, it’s the conference hall.”

Lin Qiao smiled graciously, “It’s also because my mentor gave me this opportunity.” She was neither boastful nor arrogant, teaching seriously as a teacher and conducting experiments diligently as a student.

Such a person would shine and thrive wherever they were, living a brilliant life of their own.

After everyone left and they were packing up to leave the conference hall, Lin Qiao noticed a familiar tall figure striding in from outside.

The man must have arrived early but didn’t come in to disturb them. He brought the camera he had previously bought for her, “I’ll take a few photos for you.”

“Yes, yes, take a couple of photos of our mentor. He rarely looks this presentable,” a student teased.

A group of people stood under the banner in the conference hall and took a group photo, then took individual photos in small groups.

The man must have secretly improved his photography skills, as he now knew to half-squat to find the right angle. Another student under Zhang Changning couldn’t help but whisper to Lin Qiao, “Having a colonel take my photo, I wouldn’t be able to smile.”

Of course, this was a joke, as they had seen the man pick up and drop off Lin Qiao many times and were no longer easily affected by his presence.

After everyone had taken their photos, Ji Duo raised the camera, “Who will take a photo of Lin Qiao and me?”

“I’ll do it,” said a girl who had a good relationship with Lin Qiao, extending her hand.

So, under the banner in the conference hall, only two eye-catching figures remained. The man in his military uniform, stars shining on his shoulders, and the woman in her formal attire, smiling brightly and confidently. As the shutter clicked, a pair of large hands rested on Lin Qiao’s shoulder.

They looked directly at the camera, their figures overlapping, leaving a photo more intimate than their wedding picture.

Seemingly surprised, Lin Qiao turned to look at the man right after the photo was taken, meeting his gaze.

Their eyes met, and perhaps due to the lighting, the girl saw a hint of warmth on Ji Duo’s usually stern face. Without thinking, her fingers instinctively captured this moment on film.

When the photos were developed, Ji Duo silently looked at them for a while, then opened the album and replaced the wedding photo on the first page with this one. He sent the remaining photos to Lin Qiao’s school and picked her up for the holiday.

With the project completely finished, Lin Qiao had a short holiday to spend a few days with him at the base before returning to prepare for her graduation thesis next year.

As Lin Qiao stepped out of her mentor’s office, Zhang Changning still advised her, “Think about that matter again.”

Ji Duo remained expressionless and handed over the photos.

Zhang Changning immediately thanked him.

As they left the school and got into the car, heading back to the base, he asked, “What do you need to reconsider?”

“Studying abroad,” Lin Qiao said. “The academy has a few spots for international exchange programs, and my mentor wants me to go, but I refused.”

“Why did you refuse?” Ji Duo, who had been listening calmly, suddenly spoke with a serious tone.

This surprised Lin Qiao a bit. Her reason for refusing was simple. In her previous life, she specialized in materials chemistry, particularly PAN-based carbon fiber. Sakura Country and M Country primarily held the most advanced technology in this field, especially Sakura Country. Due to its high performance and wide applicability in both military and civilian sectors, it had always been classified as a strategic material and was heavily restricted. Although domestic development in this area started late, with significant progress only beginning after 2000, the gap with world-leading technology had been steadily narrowing. Regardless of how advanced foreign technology had become in forty years, it was unlikely she would have access to it, even if it was more advanced than before she traveled back in time.

She wanted to introduce the technology earlier to reduce the reliance on foreign imports that would persist for the next ten to twenty years.

However, Ji Duo clearly didn’t see it that way. “Since you have such a good opportunity, why not go?”

He looked directly at Lin Qiao. “If it’s because it’s difficult for military dependents to study abroad, I’ll handle it. If…”

He paused. “I’m not so selfish that I can’t wait a few years and would let you sacrifice for me.”

Most people who study abroad want to go and then find a way to convince their families. But she didn’t want to go, and her family had to convince her…

Lin Qiao looked at him for a long time without speaking. “Do you know how long studying abroad would take?”

“Do you know how long I was supposed to be on the front line?”

She didn’t know. He might never have come back, but she still let him go.

“That’s different.” Lin Qiao felt the two couldn’t be compared. “You had to go; I can choose whether to go or not.”

“Then why not go?” Ji Duo returned to his previous question.

Unexpectedly, this man, who had always supported her decisions regarding her studies and career, insisted on this matter. With the driver, Xiao Fang, in the front seat, Lin Qiao didn’t know how to explain it to him.

So, when they got out of the car at home, Ji Duo had a stern face, and Lin Qiao looked serious. The atmosphere between the couple was unusually tense.

Liu Cuiying, holding her eldest daughter’s child, stood on the second floor and saw them. “Xiao Lin is back?”

In the past two years, with Ji Duo away, Lin Qiao hadn’t returned to the base, and they only spoke on the phone during holidays. When Junzi got into the military academy, Liu Cuiying was so happy that she made a lot of food and took it to Lin Qiao at school.

Now, more than two years later, Junzi was in his second year, and Liu Cuiying, bored at home, was clearly visiting with her daughter and grandchild again. Soon, she came downstairs, and the little girl in her arms reached out her chubby hands to Ji Duo. “Uncle, hug.”

The family hierarchy was a bit confusing. Lin Qiao and Ji Duo always called her grandmother “sister-in-law.”

This child was born the year Lin Qiao and Ji Duo got married. Liu Cuiying had visited her daughter and granddaughter and brought wedding cakes for them. Now, the child was four or five years old.

Seeing the little girl, Ji Duo’s expression softened slightly, and he effortlessly picked her up and lifted her. The girl wasn’t afraid of his stern face, laughing as he lifted her and pointing to the jujube tree in Lin Qiao’s yard, indicating she wanted to pick some.

“Why don’t you take her to pick some jujubes?” Lin Qiao suggested with a smile, teasing the girl a bit before heading upstairs with her things.

Ji Duo was the kind of man who kept his uniform immaculate and his living quarters exceptionally tidy.

Even in Lin Qiao’s absence, the room was spotless. The double bed was neatly made, and the pillows were arranged just as they were before she left. The wooden desk was still divided into two sides, one for his use and the other with a can used as a pen holder, containing some of Lin Qiao’s old origami.

It wasn’t just Lin Qiao’s old origami; there seemed to be a few new ones. Lin Qiao picked them up and noticed they weren’t folded very well, with creases overlapping, as if they had been repeatedly unfolded and refolded.

Imagining Ji Duo frowning while folding these, Lin Qiao found it amusing. Then, she noticed a cardboard box nearby.

The box was not fully closed, revealing some official documents with red headers, clearly brought from the office.

Remembering that Ji Duo had mentioned that the base was repainting the walls, it made sense for him to bring things home. Lin Qiao was about to look away when her gaze returned to a corner of a photo sticking out.

The photo was very familiar. She couldn’t resist pulling it out and flipping through the family album. It was the same photo, yet not the same, likely sent by the Lin family when the Ji and Lin families arranged the engagement.

She hadn’t expected to find this photo among Ji Duo’s things, and he had clearly kept it in his office.

Lin Qiao put the album back in its place and was about to return the photo when her eyes caught sight of a letter in the box.

The bold handwriting was unmistakably Ji Duo’s, addressed to “My Beloved Wife Qiao Qiao.”

Even during his years on the front line, his letters every three months were addressed to “My Wife Lin Qiao.”

Driven by curiosity, Lin Qiao picked up the letter and opened it. With just one glance, she understood what it was. It was the letter Ji Duo had written to her before going to the battlefield, his last will and testament.

“If you are reading this letter, then I’m sorry, I may no longer be here.”

The letter began with this apology. Lin Qiao didn’t know what he felt when he wrote those words, but as she read them now, she felt a pang of sadness.

“Our marriage began with a mistake. I was unwilling, and you were forced by circumstances. But I am very grateful that fate gave me this mistake.”

These were words Ji Duo, the old cadre, would never say to her face.

“I know I’m nine years older than you, will age before you, and might leave before you. I can’t make you happy, and I may not be the best match for you. But to me, you have always been the best and the only one, the greatest and most beautiful surprise in my life.”

The old cadre can be quite sentimental. Lin Qiao felt a bit like laughing and a bit like crying.

“But the surprise isn’t just you; it’s also the responsibility on my shoulders. I’m very happy that you understand and support me, and I’m even more grateful that you’re still very young.”

At first, Lin Qiao didn’t understand why he was grateful until she read further.

“You’re not even twenty years old yet. You have plenty of time to forget me and our marriage. You have the brains and the ability, and you have a forty percent share in Xiao Ze’s company. Don’t think about me; live your life well. If you find someone you like, go for it. If, by any chance, and I mean if, by any chance, you don’t need to worry about me or leave anything for me. I promised to marry you but couldn’t take care of you for a lifetime. That’s my fault…”

The simple three words at the end—”Your husband, Ji Duo”—were now blurred and unreadable to Lin Qiao.

A teardrop fell on the letter, smudging the already blurred words and sinking into her heart.

The room was quiet, making the sounds from the courtyard particularly clear.

The little girl’s crisp laughter, Ji Duo’s occasional low responses, and Liu Cuiying’s hometown-accented voice.

“I see you like children. Why don’t you ask Xiao Lin for one? Holding your own is better than holding someone else’s.”

“No rush.” Ji Duo’s response was the same as before.

When Xu Li asked, it was the same, and now, answering Liu Cuiying, it was still the same.

“Why not rush? You’re already in your thirties. Our old Liang had a child who could buy soy sauce at your age.”

But he had never been in a hurry. He always shielded her from family pressure and even wanted her to study abroad.

When Ji Duo came upstairs, everything seemed normal, except Lin Qiao was sitting at the table with slightly red eyes.

“What’s wrong?” His expression tightened. Thinking about their conversation in the car, he asked softly, “Was my tone too harsh earlier?”

“No.” Lin Qiao’s voice was tinged with a bit of nasal congestion.

“Then what’s wrong?” Ji Duo, tense all over, quickly walked over and wiped the moisture from her eyes.

Lin Qiao hugged his waist, burying her face in his abdomen. “I don’t want to go because, given my research direction, I wouldn’t learn much abroad.”

She explained softly.

“Okay.” Ji Duo responded, his hand resting on her back. “If you really don’t want to go, then don’t go.”

“And,” Lin Qiao continued, “you should quit smoking.”

“Okay.” Ji Duo agreed without knowing if he had heard clearly.

Lin Qiao looked up, her hands still tightly around his waist. “You can’t smoke or drink while preparing for pregnancy; it’s bad for the baby.”

This time, the man finally understood, and his hand on her shoulder froze. “Preparing for pregnancy?”

“Yes.” Lin Qiao nodded firmly.

Previously, she hadn’t considered having children because of her studies. But if he could be patient with her, she could adjust her plans for him.

She was a surprise to him, and he, along with the whole world, was a surprise to her.

They were nine years apart, and their relationship began with a mistake and coercion. Both were too independent and strong-willed, seemingly not a good match. But where in this world can you find so many perfect matches?

Most people spend their entire lives without finding that perfectly fitting other half. They must, through daily interactions, become the most suitable versions of themselves for each other. Just like their height difference of over twenty centimeters, when they want to hug or kiss, one has to lower their head, and the other has to stand on tiptoe. He had always been the one to lower his head, so why not let her stand on tiptoe this time?

End of Main Story  (>.<)