Chapter 12 Looking for a Husband

Clearly, what she was running toward was freedom — a path completely different from her previous life.

That happiness was soon defeated by motion sickness. The rumble of the train filled Su Niannian’s ears, and after two days and two nights, her eyelids grew heavy, and the mixture of smells made her feel queasy — to the point where she was about to vomit.

The train attendant pushed a food cart down the aisle, calling out, “Rice with braised pork — only forty cents, no meal ticket needed!”

In a daze, Su Niannian heard Su Jianshan quietly swallow his saliva — a perk that was only available on the train. A meal of braised pork with rice for forty cents, without needing a meal ticket — Su Niannian opened her eyes and quickly reached into her bag to pay. “One meal, please.”

Su Jianshan’s face was filled with envy, until the meal was placed in front of him — then he fell into a moment’s disbelief — then pure happiness. He carefully asked, “Sister… then what will you eat?”

Slumped weakly in her seat, her face pale, Su Niannian whispered, “Sour apricots… I want sour apricots.”

Before the incident, when everything fell into chaos, Jin Chuan used to take her to perform in various places. Whenever they boarded a train, she fell ill with motion sickness, much to his concern — he would ease her discomfort by offering her tart apricots. The tart flavor seemed to ease her nausea. She hadn’t meant to let it slip.

Su Niannian furrowed her brows and glanced up, just in time to see Su Jianshan dart down the car in search of the food cart. “Sister, do you have any sour apricots?”

He rushed through two compartments with his powerful voice. The train attendant knelt down, turned over the food cart, and finally retrieved a packet. Just as he was about to leave, someone from the neighboring seat stretched out a hand and asked for two more packs of sour apricots. A man in uniform — Gao Jianshe — placed them in front of the person sitting nearby, a man who kept his expression impassive.

Jin Chuan was dressed in black, with his shirt collar neatly pressed, emphasizing his strong jawline. His piercing stare glimmered through his silver-framed glasses — a calm, unfazed expression.
Gao Jianshe tasted a piece and nearly winced from its tartness. He turned to his friend. “Did you do this on purpose? If you really don’t want to come to this God-forsaken corner, you could come up with an excuse. Why make this trip… Is it to avoid Chen Niannian’s marriage?”

Jin Chuan glared at him. “I’m a brick — I’ll go wherever I’m needed. The nature of scientific research is to contribute to the people, wherever it might be.”

“That’s fine, brother, you can drop the act in front of me! I heard your fiancée, Chen Niannian, studied abroad — a real beauty. So, why aren’t you excited? Or is it… you care about something else… like her past with your brother?”

Jin Chuan’s expression grew heavy. His thin lips pressed together in displeasure. “Ugly.” Just those two words were enough — a reflection of his disdain.
He hadn’t even gotten a chance to appreciate someone’s face before making up his mind.

…

The train turned into a bus, then a bullock cart.
When they arrived in Ning County, it was already sunset.
About the army, Su Niannian had heard a little from Gu Zhiye — the military base and its family quarters were separate from the city center. The family quarters were outside the city, slowly growing alongside its expansion.
Usually, many army spouses came here, but someone as beautiful as Su Niannian was a first. The people riding alongside them struck up conversations warmly with the two — meanwhile, Su Jianshan fell fast asleep.

The driver called back, smiling, “I’ll take you to the army base first, to get you registered. After that, I’ll drop you two off at the family quarters on the way.”
Su Niannian nodded in thanks.

At the base gate, a soldier stood on guard with his rifle across his shoulder. As soon as Su Niannian drew near, he stepped forward to question her: “Comrade, who are you looking for?”
Su Niannian immediately handed over her letter of introduction. “I’m looking for Camp 2, Commanding Officer Gu Zhiye — I’m his wife.”

The soldier made a phone call, then someone rushed toward her. The soldier saluted and asked, “Are you Captain Gu’s sister?”
“I’m his wife.”

He studied her carefully, then said, “To the best of our knowledge, Captain Gu is not married.”

“…”
For a moment, Su Niannian’s mind went blank. Did he not submit a marriage application after all? Was everything a lie? Was Ma Hongmei telling the truth? Was I… a joke?

A rush of betrayal and resentment filled her, to the point that tears sprang into her eyes. The soldier grew nervous and said, “I’m sorry… we need to verify the facts, but Captain Gu is currently away on a mission. Could you come back in two weeks? Or leave us your contact information… to follow up?”

Su Niannian turned away without looking back — a freezing expression on her face — resentment gnawing at her heart.
He was just as awful as his brother!
Awful!
Walking briskly away, Su Niannian didn’t even notice a woman in uniform pass by and enter the base.

“Dad, I heard Gu Zhiye’s marriage application was withdrawn. Is it true?”

The political commissar, Jiang, put down his teacup with a frown. “Comrade Jiang Xiaofei, pay attention to your discretion. This isn’t something you should be inquiring about.”
“I’m worried.”

He sighed quietly. Gu Zhiye was not just a young and capable camp commander — he was a military superstar, a man forged by battle. So much more aggressive, charismatic, and desirable than the children of ordinary military families — the political commissar himself valued him. It was a shame — he was already married. Gu Zhiye had gone home to get married. Jiang Xiaofei hadn’t eaten for two days.
Impossible — a mess-up — the marriage application was withdrawn — this meant…
He didn’t want it?

Just then, Commissar Jiang put down his teacup. “It’s not him who withdrew it. He’s still away from the base.”

He sighed inwardly. Gu Zhiye chose to pursue marriage with a woman from a questionable background, much to the dismay of many in power — if it hadn’t been for Regiment Leader Yan’s intervention, the entire base might already know about their marriage. With a future so promising, yet choosing to be tied down by someone of an unknown past — it seemed he was choosing to return to the countryside instead.