Chapter 3

“Xu Zhao, you’re back! I heard this mission went well. Looks like you’re probably getting promoted. Good grief, you’re ahead of me now. Are you going to leave us all behind?”

Zhang Xiangqian lightly tapped Xu Zhao on the right shoulder, being careful not to apply too much pressure, knowing he was still injured. He was genuinely envious and sincerely admired Xu Zhao.

Xu Zhao had outstanding abilities in the military. He threw himself into missions with great effort, and no leader disliked such talent—brave, strategic, and a top graduate from a military academy. Given some more time, his future achievements would undoubtedly be significant.

Xu Zhao slightly turned to the side, accepting Zhang Xiangqian’s praise without a hint of modesty. “While I’m injured, don’t take the chance to get back at me. The new generation will surpass the old, and the old will die on the beach. I’m still young, and if you don’t put in more effort, you’ll end up being left behind.”

Zhang Xiangqian’s mouth twitched, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes dramatically. “If you can’t speak properly, just say less. It’s giving me a headache. No wonder you’re still single after so many years. You’re like a hard stone—what girl would look at you? Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you. The political commissar has given you a final order: you must settle down within this year, or you’ll be in trouble.”

He looked on with a schadenfreude expression, clearly enjoying the drama.

A couple of days ago, he happened to overhear the political commissar and the chief of staff discussing Xu Zhao’s marriage. They said they couldn’t let Xu Zhao continue as he was, or it would be unknown how long it would drag on.

“I’m telling you, the older a man gets, the less appealing he becomes. Young women will find you lacking in common interests, romance, and sweet talk. Listen to me: while you’re still young and handsome, find a girl and get married quickly. Otherwise, by the time you do, my child will be buying soy sauce while yours is still reading novels. That’ll be awkward.”

Xu Zhao frowned. “The political commissar is just worrying too much. I’m doing fine on my own in the army, with food and clothing taken care of. If he has time to worry about this, he should focus on improving the combat effectiveness of the troops.”

There were plenty of single people in the army. Why was the political commissar fixated only on him? Thinking about the commissar’s nagging, Xu Zhao felt a headache coming on.

“You’ll understand the taste of married life with a wife and kids once you experience it. You’re clearly not enlightened yet. You’re like a eunuch being more anxious than the emperor. Even if you don’t think of yourself, you should consider the other single men in the army. The well-fed don’t understand the hungry.”

Zhang Xiangqian shook his head, waiting for the day Xu Zhao would be proven wrong. He was ready to watch the show.

Xu Zhao gave Zhang Xiangqian a dismissive glance. What did his personal life have to do with the rest of the soldiers?

“Hey, I’ve figured you out. You’re hopeless. Every time the arts troupe’s female soldiers come to perform, so many girls like you because you’re the shining gem in front. The rest are just weeds. The girls only see you and not the others.”

Zhang Xiangqian spoke with a tone of grievance, secretly cursing.

He couldn’t understand why, despite Xu Zhao’s good looks, he was always so cold and never smiled at girls. How could those girls possibly like him?

Was appearance so important that they didn’t consider inner qualities?

He heard that a battalion commander from the neighboring regiment had his eye on a female doctor who recently arrived. Unfortunately, the female doctor was interested in Xu Zhao. Despite the battalion commander’s attempts to win her over with warmth, the female doctor remained focused on Xu Zhao, even giving him hints and caring for him. Xu Zhao remained indifferent and was eager to be discharged despite still being injured.

He wondered what the female doctor thought about it. It was a pity—a fine girl who seemed to have bad judgment, falling for such an emotionally uninvolved person.

Seeing Zhang Xiangqian lost in thought, Xu Zhao decided to bypass him and head back to his dormitory.

As Xu Zhao was about to leave, Zhang Xiangqian called out, “Oh, right! I almost forgot. You have two letters. They arrived two months ago—one from the capital and the other from Mingjiang City. I brought them for you and left them on your desk.”

Xu Zhao first opened the letter from home. His father mentioned arranging a marriage for him and urged him to hurry to Mingjiang City to meet the bride. He also reminded Xu Zhao to be polite and not scare off his future bride with a cold demeanor, warning him that if he did, he’d have to face the consequences at home.

Xu Zhao frowned instinctively, finding his father’s actions unreliable. Forcing two strangers together, and he hadn’t even seen what the girl from the Jiang family looked like. It felt absurd, like being sold off by his father.

He then opened the other letter. The sender’s name was Jiang Guoxin, which sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

A thin piece of paper fell out from inside the letter, with somewhat hasty handwriting.

Xu Zhao read quickly, his brow furrowing more and more.

Zhang Xiangqian, curious, couldn’t resist peeking over, trying to see what the letter said. However, Xu Zhao was quick to hide it, folding the letter back up and placing it in his pocket before quickly heading upstairs.

So cautious!

“Stingy!” Zhang Xiangqian muttered under his breath.

He remembered Xu Zhao’s family was based in the capital, not Mingjiang City. He reached out to stop Xu Zhao, wanting to ask if something was wrong, but Xu Zhao’s usually calm demeanor had clearly changed.

*

They had barely managed to tidy up the house, which only had a single bed with a hole smashed in it.

Jiang Suihan looked at the hole with great worry.

In the end, Jiang Leyun found a piece of wood from somewhere and placed it over the large hole. It covered the hole well enough, though it was lower on the sides and raised in the middle. While it wouldn’t cause someone to fall through in their sleep, it was still quite uncomfortable.

Given their current tough conditions, it had to suffice. At least they wouldn’t get stuck.

They had only three sprouting sweet potatoes left and nothing else to eat.

The siblings looked at each other, with the sound of their stomachs growling echoing in the empty house.

Jiang Leyun stared at the three sweet potatoes on the floor, his brow furrowed in concern for the next day.

After tonight’s meal, they would be out of food. With his sister injured and his own limited strength, he knew no one would hire him for work.

As the only male in the family, Jiang Leyun felt a strong sense of responsibility and wanted to contribute to the household, but being so young, he couldn’t think of a solution to their predicament.

Jiang Suihan ruffled her brother’s hair: “Stop frowning, you’re becoming an old man. Don’t worry, I’ll come up with a solution.”

Although she was also troubled by their situation, as the older sibling, she had to bear the burden and couldn’t let a seven-year-old child worry as well.

Jiang Leyun looked at his sister expectantly: “What solution?”

When asked directly, Jiang Suihan hesitated, trying to bluff with a serious face: “Uh, I haven’t figured it out yet. It will take a bit of time, but I will come up with something.”

Jiang Leyun pursed his lips, noticing his sister’s somewhat guilty look. He wasn’t entirely convinced by her words but didn’t want to undermine her. He nodded, showing he understood.

Unable to wash her hair due to her injury, Jiang Suihan took a quick shower. Exhausted from a long day, she found it hard to sleep due to a headache and the musty smell of the blanket, which was also dirty.

She had a mild obsession with cleanliness and couldn’t stand a dirty bed, but the situation left her no choice but to endure.

In the hot weather, she felt sticky and restless, her mind cluttered.

She touched the white jade pendant around her neck, pondering whether the friend’s son would come. The letter had been sent at the end of May, and now it was August. Over two months had passed with no news.

She guessed that either the letter got lost in transit or the recipient received it but chose not to reply, possibly to avoid rejecting the proposal directly.

If it were her, she might have done the same—who would want to marry a stranger?

With the Jiang family’s current situation being akin to a quagmire, it was hard to maintain one’s integrity, let alone avoid getting deeper into trouble. People naturally avoid harm, so she couldn’t blame others entirely for not coming.

Tonight’s full moon cast a white glow through the small window. Jiang Suihan held the jade pendant, examining it closely. The jade looked clear and luminous, but beyond that, she couldn’t see any other significance.

After some thought, she quietly got out of bed, accidentally knocking over a small wooden stool. She turned to check on her brother, who showed no sign of waking.

The little guy had been busy all day, and with his emotional exhaustion, he had fallen asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

She retrieved the only knife in the house. The knife had a broken spot in the middle. Jiang Suihan held the knife in her right hand, aiming it at her left index finger, preparing to make a cut.

However, after holding the knife up for a while, she still couldn’t bring herself to do it.

She lacked the resolve!

Gritting her teeth, she mustered the courage, closed her eyes, and made a cut on her index finger. When she opened her eyes, she realized she hadn’t cut deeply enough, and there was only a shallow wound with no blood.

Jiang Suihan took a deep breath and tried again.

The pain almost made her cry out, but she bit her lip to hold back the sound. On her second attempt, she finally drew blood. She quickly put down the knife and squeezed her finger to let the blood drip onto the jade pendant.

One minute passed, and the pendant showed no change. Five minutes later, there was still no change. After half an hour, her eyes were nearly crossing from staring, and the pendant still showed no sign of change.

It was all a lie. She was indeed not the protagonist.

Looking at the cut on her finger, Jiang Suihan felt like crying but had no tears. It was truly a case of losing both the soldier and the general.

**