Chapter 34 Military Dependents

When there’s no mission, Gu Zhiye spends most of his time training new recruits and strengthening his own physical condition. Without a doubt, you can usually find him on the training ground. Standard target practice is a daily requirement, but unlike ordinary new soldiers, he stands tall and straight, his piercing black eyes locking directly on the distant target, and after a series of shots — “bang, bang, bang” — a new soldier reports his score, his face full of excitement and pure admiration.

“Reporting, Captain, all tens!”

Gu Zhiye casually rubbed the warm gun barrel with his callused fingertips and nodded quietly, not a ripple of expression on his face. However, from a nearby sheltered spot, enthusiastic clapping suddenly broke out. Su Jianshan’s eyes glimmered as he raised his voice in awe: “Awesome! I’m dazzled just by looking.”

Gu Zhiye sighed in exasperation. He put away his gun and walked over. “What’s the matter?”

Usually, Su Jianshan went back and forth along two routes in the army base — from the family quarters to the mess hall — and almost never strayed from them. This was his first time at the training ground. The soldiers nearby kept sneaking glances at him. Gu Zhiye simply led him to a resting spot. Before he could even ask, Su Jianshan rushed to state his purpose.

“Please spare a moment to check on my little sister at the Cultural Troupe. She’s been weird lately — not eating much, with a poor appetite. She’s losing weight… How can we carry on the Gu family’s bloodline if this goes on? She’s gotten so thin — her waist is tiny now…”

He made a dramatic gesture with his hands, causing Gu Zhiye, who was in the middle of drinking water, to nearly choke. He tightened the lid of his army canteen, glancing outside at the blazing sunlight. “All right, I’ll go check on her.”

He hadn’t seen Su Niannian for nearly two days. What was going on with her, anyway?

…

When he decided to go to the Supply Cooperative, Zhang Jie even returned all the food stamps he had borrowed from him.

He hadn’t expected to bump into someone he knew there — Chen Niannian, alongside a strange man. The only thing that made their relationship clear was the faint redness creeping up Chen Niannian’s cheeks as she stood close to him, darting nervous glances around. All of a sudden, her gaze fell upon Gu Zhiye, who was waiting in line, and she paused briefly before smiling and turning to explain to Jin Chuan, “That’s a friend of mine.”

Gu Zhiye: “?”

Using Su Jianshan’s network, she was eager to make Jin Chuan realize that a dilapidated ship still had a few nails left. The following moment, Jin Chuan disregarded her completely — if his mother hadn’t called him repeatedly, asking him to deliver something to Chen Niannian, he wouldn’t have bothered to come in the first place. Hearing her boastfulness, he felt sick, and casually said, “If you have a friend to see, I’ll be on my way.”

He turned and walked away without a backward glance. His back was cold and indifferent.

Gu Zhiye was nearby and saw this dramatic scene. His heart grew suspicious — sure enough, when he drew close, Chen Niannian tried to win him over and casually let drop the fact that her fiancé was a renowned researcher, Professor Jin Chuan, and that if Gu Zhiye ever needed help, he shouldn’t hesitate to let her know. All the while, she kept probing.

“I heard there’s a young woman in your Cultural Troupe — her name’s Su Niannian, or something…”

Gu Zhiye briefly responded, “Don’t know her.”

Chen Niannian kept up the act while weighing out candy, smiling. “Aren’t your army base and the Cultural Troupe quite close? Oh, I forgot to ask, what’s your name, comrade?”

Gu Zhiye placed his food stamps and candy stamps on the counter and said quietly, “My surname is Gu.”

Chen Niannian raised her eyes and subconsciously studied Gu Zhiye, but his expression didn’t reveal a thing. Perhaps it was just a coincidence — their matching surname meant nothing. Moreover, A city’s B town, Long County, was hundreds of miles away — there’s no way he’d know Su Niannian!
Chen Niannian’s gaze lingered on him…

Gu Zhiye had already gotten all the information he wanted on Jin Chuan — a renowned scientist who specialized in agricultural genome improvement, a Black Province native, and someone who had just recently returned from a trip abroad. His path seemed completely disconnected from Su Niannian’s. Nevertheless, when he heard Chen Niannian’s mention, Gu Zhiye grew vigilant. So… was this supposed to be Su Niannian’s fiancé? A pure, charming, seemingly harmless researcher? Gu Zhiye felt a rush of frustration. So this was the kind of person his wife liked? His heart was a mess, yet his face remained impassive.

When he walked into the Cultural Troupe with his packages, many women’s gazes fell upon him — some even whispered “captain”— their voices eager and curious. Instead of heading directly toward the training room, Gu Zhiye paused, turned, and walked into Vice Captain Zhang’s office, closing the door to block out their stares and gossip.

Vice Captain Zhang warmly received him. “Captain Gu — wait, I might soon have to call you Deputy Captain! When can you come and give a motivational talk to the members of our Cultural Troupe, let them appreciate the hardships soldiers endure on the front lines…”

Gu Zhiye tasted his tea and forced a modest smile. “It’s not a big deal, Captain Zhang. You think too highly of me.”

He was much younger, yet a superstar in their circle, a favorite in the army. Furthermore, the military’s deputy captain was a much more substantial post than a Cultural Troupe’s. So Captain Zhang’s kindness was not without a heavy dose of flattery — until Gu Zhiye placed a stack of oil paper packages in front of him, much to his astonishment. “Please pass these on to Su Niannian. Thank you.” Gu Zhiye saluted and turned to leave.

Vice Captain Zhang was left there, dumbfounded. Su Niannian? The most beautiful woman in their troupe — someone already married? Oh, no! This was a mess! Just then, he was reminded of something Leader Yan had previously said, and he hurried to make a phone call. Without letting the person on the other side get a word in, he began to roar, “Curse you, Old Yan! You’ve gotten me into big trouble! Your Captain Gu is interested in a woman from our troupe — a married woman! This is a mess! What am I supposed to do?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to dig into Su Niannian’s background?”

“How do you know it’s Su Niannian?!”

“That’s a given! I know it’s her — just do me a favor and let it go. Stop investigating…”

Vice Captain Zhang fell into a moment of confusion. “Who? Whose wife? If you’re not going to tell me, I’m going to call Su Niannian directly and get the facts straight.”

“It’s… Gu Zhiye’s wife.”